Rdxfbgrtj

Bustech bodied Scania K320UB at City Bus Station in January 2018
Parent	Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate
Founded	1926 (1926) by Federal Capital Commission as Canberra City Omnibus Service
Commenced operation	19 July 1926
Headquarters	Greenway
Locale	Canberra
Service type	Bus services
Hubs	City Bus Station
Depots	3
Fleet	446 (November 2018)
Annual ridership	17.8 million (2015/16)
Chief Operating Officer	Bren Burkevics
Website	www.transport.act.gov.au

ACTION is a bus operator in Canberra, Australia owned by the ACT Government.

History

Ansair bodied Mercedes-Benz O305 at Spence in 1982

Ansair bodied Renault PR100.2

Wright Crusader bodied Dennis Dart operating on the Free City Loop

Custom Coaches bodied Irisbus Agora Line at Gungahlin Town Centre in January 2010

Custom Coaches bodied MAN 18.320 on Blue Rapid route 313

Custom Coaches bodied Scania K320UB at City Bus Station in July 2012

Custom Coaches bodied Scania K360UA in Wagga Wagga in September 2012

On 19 July 1926, the Federal Capital Commission commenced operating public bus services between Eastlake (now Kingston) in the south and Ainslie in the north.^[1]

The service was first known as Canberra City Omnibus Service, but it has had a number of names over the years, including Canberra City Bus Service, Canberra Omnibus Service and Canberra Bus Service. On 14 February 1977, it was renamed as the Australian Capital Territory Internal Omnibus Network, or ACTION for short.^[1][2]

As part of the move to ACT self-government, responsibility for ACTION passed from the Federal Government to the ACT Government in 1989.

Network 2019

In June 2018, the ACT Government released a proposal for changes to the bus network to coincide with the opening of the Light Rail which included a 7 day network with 10 rapid routes and an overhaul of the route numbers.^[3] The proposed changes caused controversy due to changes to school services and the removal of all Xpresso services.^[4] Public consultation for the proposal lasted between June and August 2018^[5]. A modified proposal was released in October 2018.^[6]

Corporate Structure

ACTION is a business unit of the Public Transport Division of the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate of the ACT Government. Transport Canberra was formed on 1 July 2016 combining the Public Transport Division and Capital Metro Agency to manage all public transport operations within the ACT.^[7][8][9]

Current routes

ACTION operates two separate networks of bus routes: one on weekdays and the other on weekends and public holidays.^[10]

Free City Loop

Route 101 is a free shuttle that travels around the City and Braddon with a 10 minute frequency between 7am and 7pm. This route only operates on weekdays.

Blue Rapid

Blue Rapid services provide a high-frequency link between the City and the bus stations at Belconnen, Woden and Tuggeranong town centres. Blue Rapid services consist of the 300 series routes (300, 313, 314, 315, 316, 318, 319 and 343) on weekdays.

Blue Rapid route 300, 313, 343 and 319 operates between Kippax, Lanyon and the town centres; the remaining weekday Blue Rapid services operate through suburbs in Belconnen or Tuggeranong and then continue along the trunk (or common) route to the four town centres.

On weekends and public holidays, route 300 travels between all town centres.

Red Rapid

Red Rapid Route 200 is a limited stop service between Gungahlin Town Centre, Northbourne Avenue, City, Russell Offices, Barton and Iron Knob Street, Fyshwick (at the Canberra Outlet Centre). In the evenings, the service commences and terminates at the Canberra railway station, rather than Fyshwick.

On weekends it operates only between Gungahlin Town Centre and the City.

Green Rapid

Green Rapid Route 6 is a high-frequency link between the City, Parkes, Barton, Kingston, Manuka, Narrabundah, the Canberra Hospital and Woden.

The route operates as 938 on weekends with a 30 minutes frequency.

Black Rapid

Black Rapid Route 250 is high-frequency link between the Gungahlin Town Centre and the bus stations at Belconnen. This route only operates on weekdays.

Regular route services

ACTION's regular weekday services operate either as feeder services to a single town centre or connect two or three town centres via suburban streets.

During weekends and public holidays, ACTION provides a reduced level of service with most suburban routes operating with an hourly frequency.

Xpresso

Xpresso routes operate during weekday peak hours to provide direct links to the City, Russell Offices, Barton, Campbell Park and Airport Business Parks or direct services between Town Centres bypassing the City. These services are designed to reduce the travel time for commuters. Xpresso services are numbered 712 - 792.

Other peak services

Other weekday peak hour services operate as an extension to existing route services. These routes are numbered in the 1** and 2** series (where the ** represents the regular route service number). The 100 series routes travel along the Blue Rapid trunk route between Woden and City Bus Stations. The 200 series routes travel along the Red Rapid trunk route between Gungahlin Bus Station and City Bus Stations.

School services

School services are provided by ACTION to schools and colleges throughout the ACT. These are numbered in the 401 - 699 and 800 - 899 ranges.

Special needs transport

ACTION also operates the special needs transport division which provides transport for school students with a disability. This division is operated using a dedicated fleet of wheelchair-accessible minibuses.

Flexible bus service

The Flexible bus service operates on weekdays to provide a free, basic bus service to passengers with limited access to normal public transport options.^[11] Six services operate daily providing a pick up service in the morning from designated suburbs to shopping centres and hospitals, with return services operating in the afternoon.

These bus services are operated by the special needs transport minibuses.

Ticketing

Cash fares

There are four cash fare options on ACTION:

• Adult Single (with 90 minute transfer)


• Adult Daily


• Concession Single (with 90 minute transfer)


• Concession Daily

Concession tickets are available to school students, full-time tertiary students, seniors card holders and various government concession card holders.^[12]

Pre-paid fares

The pre-paid ticketing system operated by the ACT Government is known as MyWay.^[13] It uses contactless smart cards with MIFARE-Technology onto which credit is loaded. Passengers are required to 'tag on' when boarding the bus and 'tag off' when exiting, at which point the appropriate fare is calculated and, if required, deducted from the stored value on the MyWay card.

The MyWay system uses Parkeon software and equipment including Wayfarer 200 consoles^[14] and Axio card readers.^[15] The system was built and installed by Parkeon's Australian distributor, Downer EDi.^[16] Instead of being developed from scratch, MyWay was adapted from Transperth's SmartRider system which also uses Parkeon hardware and software.^[17][18]

Fleet

As of November 2018, ACTION's route service fleet consisted of 446 buses.^[19]

Chassis	Body	Type	Air con			Notes	Number in service	Orders
Renault PR100.2	Ansair Metro[20]	Step entrance rigid, Diesel		✓		Branded as Macks, being withdrawn	55
Renault PR100.3	Austral Denning Starliner[21]	Step entrance rigid, Diesel		✓			16
Dennis Dart SLF	Wright Crusader	Low-floor rigid, Euro II Diesel			✓	Only used on the Free City Loop	6
Irisbus Agora	Custom Coaches CB60[22]	Low-floor rigid, Euro II Diesel	✓	✓	✓	One withdrawn after a fire, originally ordered by King Brothers	19
Scania L94UB	Custom Coaches CB60[23]	Low-floor rigid, CNG	✓	✓	✓		54
MAN A69 18.310 HOCL-NL	Custom Coaches CB60 Evo II[24]	Low-floor rigid, CNG	✓	✓	✓		16
MAN A69 18.310 HOCL-R-NL	Custom Coaches CB60 Evo II	Low-floor rigid, Euro IV Diesel	✓	✓	✓		2
MAN A69 18.320 HOCL-NL/E5	Custom Coaches CB60 Evo II[25]	Low-floor rigid, Euro V Diesel	✓	✓	✓		87
Scania K320UB 6x2*4	Custom Coaches CB60 Evo II[26]	Low-floor rigid tri-axle (steerable-tag), Euro V Diesel	✓		✓		26
Scania K360UA 6x2/2	Custom CB80[27]	Low-floor articulated, Euro V/EEV Diesel	✓	✓	✓	Fitted with bike racks in June 2017[28]	33
Scania K320UB 4x2	Custom CB80	Low-floor rigid, Euro VI Diesel	✓	✓	✓		82
Scania K320UB 4x2	Bustech VST	Low-floor rigid, Euro VI Diesel	✓	✓	✓		30
Scania K360UA 6x2/2	Volgren Optimus	Low-floor articulated, Euro VI/EEV Diesel	✓	✓	✓		11
Scania K320UB 4x2	Volgren Optimus	Low-floor rigid, Euro VI Diesel	✓	✓	✓		20
BYD Toro eBus	Gemilang Coachworks	Low-floor rigid, Electric bus	✓	✓	✓	On a 12-month trial leased from Carbridge, one more entered service in June 2018.[29][30]	2

Bicycle racks have been fitted to the front of 94% of the buses in the fleet. Each rack can hold two bicycles. Passengers may load a bicycle onto the rack for free, but must pay a regular fare to travel on the bus.^[31]

Apart from buses with all over advertising or special designs, ACTION's fleet sport either a blue, orange and white (Renault buses) or a green, orange and white livery (all other buses). In December 2016, a predominantly blue livery was introduced.^[32][33]

ACTION's Special Needs Transport division operates a fleet of eighteen Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa minibuses. These buses are white in colour and do not operate on route services.

ACTION also operate Toyota Hiace Commuter and Hyundai iMax vans which can be used to transport passengers, Hino Dutro trucks used by mechanics to attend broken down buses and a single Mack tow truck.

ACTION's heritage fleet consists of a 1949 AEC Regal III^[34] and a 1961 AEC Reliance.

Current infrastructure

Depots

Belconnen Bus Depot in November 2009

ACTION operates three depots:

• 
  Woden Bus Depot, Prospect Court, Phillip opened 16 April 1974,^[1] closing in February 1997^[35] before reopening in 2009.^[36] It currently houses the Special Needs Transport minibus fleet and buses which are not in service. It is to be demolished in 2018 with a new depot built.^[37][38]
  


• 
  Belconnen Bus Depot, Cohen Street, Belconnen opened 3 September 1979,^[1] includes a bus wash, workshop, undercover bus parking, diesel refill, drivers amenities and administrative area.


• 
  Tuggeranong Bus Depot, Scollay Street, Greenway opened in August 1989,^[39] includes a bus wash, workshop, undercover bus parking, CNG and diesel fuelling facilities, drivers amenities and administrative area.

Bus Stations

Belconnen Community Bus Station in January 2011

ACTION operates seven bus stations, which act as hubs for the districts of Canberra.^[40]

• 
  City Bus Station (opened 23 November 1982^[41] and remodelled 2000) serves Gungahlin, Canberra Central, Blue Rapid, Green Rapid and Red Rapid services


• 
  Woden Bus Station (opened 4 December 1972,^[42] second stage opened 1982^[1]) serves Woden Valley, Weston Creek, Tuggeranong, Blue Rapid and Green Rapid services


• 
  Tuggeranong Bus Station (opened 12 August 1991^[43]) serves Tuggeranong and Blue Rapid services


• Located in Belconnen Town Centre are three bus stations - Cohen Street (opened 2009) and Belconnen Community Station (opened November 2010) and Westfield Belconnen Station - which serve Belconnen, Gungahlin, Blue Rapid and Black Rapid services


• 
  Gungahlin Town Centre - Currently located on Gozzard Street, north of Hibberson Street - serves Gungahlin, Red Rapid and Black Rapid services

City Bus Station is located on East Row, Mort Street and Alinga Street with peak services departing from Northbourne Avenue. Limited local access is permitted on Mort and Alinga Streets, while East Row is a bus-only street. Woden and Tuggeranong Bus Stations are off street stations which permit access only to buses, essential traffic and emergency vehicles.

Belconnen Town Centre is serviced by two bus stations located along Cohen Street: Cohen Street Bus Station (located outside the Belconnen Bus Depot near the intersection with Josephson Street, opened in May 2009)^[44][45] and Belconnen Community Bus Station (located between Benjamin Way and Emu Bank, at the site of the former Belconnen Interchange, opened in November 2010).^[46] In addition, a major stop is located outside Westfield Belconnen, near the intersection of Cohen and Lathlain Streets. All bus routes travelling to or through Belconnen Town Centre service all three locations. Additional stops are located on Emu Bank and Eastern Valley Way which are serviced by most routes which travel through Belconnen Town Centre.^[47]

Bus shelters

Concrete bunker shelter outside Old Parliament House, Parkes

Bus shelters installed at stops include what is referred to as a "concrete bunker" which were first installed in May 1975.^[48] More modern shelters include glass-sided Adshel shelters (both with and without advertising) which were first installed in 2007^[49] and CAM (Community Asset Management NZ Limited) shelters which were first installed in 2012.^[50]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to ACTION.

• ACTION homepage


• MyWay homepage