 | |
 Irizar bodied Scania K310IB in January 2022 | |
| Founded | March 1931 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Mount Waverley |
| Service area | Melbourne |
| Service type | Bus & coach operator |
| Fleet | 148 (November 2023) [1] |
| Website | www |
Driver Group is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. In July 2013 the five bus routes it operated were sold to CDC Victoria and was rebranded CDC Melbourne afterwards.
Driver Brothers was formed in March 1931, when Eric and Reg Driver built two 7 seat Pontiacs and began operating a service from Glen Iris railway station to Camberwell. In the 1960s the route was extended to the new Chadstone Shopping Centre. In 1962 the operation was renamed Driver Bus Lines and at the end of the decade Eric's two sons, Daryl and Gary, joined the business. [2] [3]
In 1970, Driver Bus Lines diversified into the coach market and in January 1978 purchased the Camberwell to Box Hill service from RW Curren. In 1986 Shave Bus Service was purchased and renamed Waverley Transit. [2] [4]
In May 1989, the Pioneer Tours Melbourne day sightseeing business was purchased from Pioneer Trailways. [5] In February 1991 Driver Bus Lines was awarded the Gray Line franchise for Melbourne and renamed its sightseeing operation Pioneer Gray Line. In October 1992 the Great Sights sightseeing brand was launched and Melbright Coaches purchased. [2]
In June 1994 Sydney tour operator Great Sights South Pacific was purchased. In July 1996 Driver Bus Lines was renamed Driver Group. In December 1996 Clipper Tours, the Sydney operator of the Gray Line franchise, was purchased. [6] [7] After the Gray Line part of the business was separated, Clipper Tours was resold to Ron Deane in February 1998. [2] [8] [9]
Over the next decade Driver Group would gradually buy the Gray Line Australia franchises in all other capital cities. In October 2010 Mornington Peninsula operators Balnarring Bus Lines, Coolart Bus & Coach, Mawson's Coaches and Old Tyabb Coaches were purchased adding 29 buses to the fleet. [2]
Driver Group today operates charters originating in Melbourne and operating to destinations around the country, Great Sights day tours in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide and Gray Line Australia day tours in Melbourne, Perth, Cairns, Adelaide, Darwin, Alice Springs and Tasmania.
In July 2013, the route service business was sold to CDC Victoria with five routes and 42 buses. [10] [11] [12] The operation was integrated into CDC Victoria's subsidiary Eastrans until the latter was rebranded CDC Melbourne the following year.
In November 2013 the operation of Gray Line services in Sydney was sub-licensed to Australia Wide Coaches. [13]
Brands operated by Driver Group include:
Brands previously used by Driver Group include:
Brands or companies acquired by Driver Group include:
As at November 2023, Driver Group operated 148 buses and coaches. [1] Driver's fleet livery has long been white and blue. Gray Line coaches are painted white, red and blue.
Murrays Coaches is an Australian express and coach charter company.
Clipper Tours was an Australian coach operator in Sydney.
CDC Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It operates 55 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It is one of the brands of CDC Victoria, which is in turn a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia.
Westbus was an Australian bus and coach operator that operated bus services in Western Sydney from 1955 until October 2013. Founded by the Bosnjak family, it later became a subsidiary of National Express and later ComfortDelGro Cabcharge.
Transdev Shorelink was an Australian bus company operating services in the northern suburbs of Sydney. It was a division of Transdev. In 2013, Transdev Shorelink was absorbed into Transdev NSW. Rebranding into Transdev NSW did not happen until 2014.
Greyhound Australia is an Australian coach operator that ran services in all mainland states and territories until reduction of services in the 2000s.
Transdev NSW was a bus operator in the northern, southern and western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It was a subsidiary of Transdev.
Busabout Sydney was a bus company that operated route bus services in South West Sydney, Australia. It operated on behalf of Transport for NSW.
Panorama Coaches is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It operates four routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It is a subsidiary of the Dineen Group.
CDC Canberra, formerly Qcity Transit, is an Australian bus operator based in Queanbeyan, New South Wales. It operates services from Queanbeyan to Canberra, Bungendore and Yass. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia.
Custom Denning is an Australian bus body builder based in St Marys, New South Wales.
Ansett Pioneer was an Australian long distance coach operator. Founded in 1905 as the AA Withers Bus Company, the company maintained continuous operation under a variety of corporate monikers until its 1993 merger into Greyhound Pioneer Australia.
Premier Transport Group is an Australian operator of bus and coach services in New South Wales and Queensland. Its origins can be traced back to December 1987 when John King purchased Nowra Coaches. It has since expanded through a number of acquisitions.
McCafferty's Coaches was an Australian family run interstate coach operator from 1940 to 2004. In October 2004 the McCafferty family sold its shares and its operations were rebranded as part of Greyhound Australia
Australia Wide Coaches is an Australian coach company operating charter services, an express service between Orange and Sydney and services in Central West New South Wales under contract to NSW TrainLink.
Deanes Coaches was an Australian bus company operating route bus services and charter coaches on Sydney's North Shore.
Dysons is a bus and coach operator in Victoria, Australia.
South Western Coach Lines was an Australian bus company operating services in the Eastern Suburbs, Inner West, South West and Sutherland Shire regions of Sydney.
Newmans Coach Lines was an Australian coach charter company with operations in Sydney and Cairns.
Manly Coaches was an Australian bus charter company in Sydney.