Parent | Grenda Corporation |
---|---|
Commenced operation | 24 May 1936 |
Ceased operation | January 2012 |
Headquarters | Lilydale |
Service area | Eastern Melbourne |
Service type | Bus operator |
Routes | 16 |
Hubs | Chirnside Park Shopping Centre Stud Park Shopping Centre Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre Westfield Knox |
Fleet | 97 (January 2012) |
Website | www.invictabus.com.au |
Invicta Bus Services, [1] previously Croydon Bus Service trading as Invicta Bus Lines, [2] was a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was a Melbourne bus company that operated 16 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It was purchased by Grenda Corporation in March 2009. which in turn was acquired by Ventura Bus Lines in January 2012.
Croydon Bus Service owned by Bill Wilson commenced on 24 May 1936 between Croydon and North Croydon. In December 1947, Clem and Emily (Tine) Usher purchased the business, which had a fleet of five vehicles at the time. [3] The business expanded with the purchase of Ringwood Bus Service in May 1952, A Turner in 1968, Adams Bus Service in January 1979. [4] John Usher joined the family business in 1964, and became managing direction in 1967. Clem passed away the year after in 1968, and by this time the business had 22 vehicles. [3]
In February 1972, the business merged with US Bus Lines to form Invicta United Bus Lines, but this arrangement was dissolved in September 1973. [5] [6] [7] In October 1977, Invcita introduced the Telebus on-demand bus service. [8]
In July 1987, Invicta purchased Morse's Bus Service in Devonport, Tasmania. This was sold in 1990. [9] [10] Usher then acquired other bus services in Tasmania, such as Devonport to Cradle Mountain, Tag Along Tours in Hobart and Mountain Stage Line in Launceston. The Tasmanian operations then became known as Tassielink Transit.
In September 2001, John Usher sold Croydon Bus Service and its associated companies to its management team, consisting of Pam Usher, Frank Mercuri and Kumar Vasantha. [3] John continued to focus on Tassielink Transit, which was separated from Invicta. [10] [1] Shortly after the sale (circa. 2002), the company logo was modified from one prancing horse to three prancing horses to reflect the three new directors. [3]
Invicta was acquired by the Grenda Corporation in March 2009. [2] [11] The brand was retained with the use of Grenda's logo in lieu of the horses logo. After Grenda Corporation was purchased by Ventura Bus Lines in January 2012, the brand and logo were retired. [12] [13] [14]
As at the acquisition by Ventura (January 2012), the fleet consisted of 97 buses. [15]
Fleet livery was fawn and orange that was later superseded by a white, yellow and red livery with the company logo's prancing horses (reminiscent of that on the Invicta flag). After its acquisition by Grenda, it later adopted the standard white with red and yellow flashes of Grenda Corporation.
Volgren is an Australian bus and coach body manufacturer.
Tasslielink Transit is a bus and coach operator in Hobart and Launceston, Tasmania.
Buses in Melbourne, Australia, are a major form of public transport in Melbourne, with an extensive bus network. There are 346 routes in operation with a varying range of service frequencies, operated by privately owned bus companies under franchise from the State Government, under the Public Transport Victoria branding. The Night Network bus system consists of 10 routes and operates on Friday and Saturday nights, and a SmartBus orbital bus network currently consisting of nine routes, which is intended to facilitate cross city travel, while the current network is predominantly a radial network. Most of the bus network is a covered by the myki ticketing system.
Ventura Bus Lines is a large bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, operating a fleet of 927 buses on 141 bus routes.
Grenda's Bus Services was a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. As a Melbourne bus company, it operated 23 bus routes under contract to the Victoria State Government. It was purchased by Ventura Bus Lines in January 2012.
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.
Transit Systems Victoria, formerly Sita Buslines, is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems and operates 18 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria.
Grenda Corporation was an Australian bus and coach company which operated services under its subsidiaries Cardinia Transit, Grenda's Bus Services, Moorabbin Transit, Peninsula Bus Lines and Portsea Passenger Service, all of which were sold to Ventura Bus Lines in January 2012. It also formerly owned the Volgren bus body building business.
Cardinia Transit was a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. As a Melbourne bus company, it operated 15 bus routes under contract to the Government of Victoria. A subsidiary of Grenda Corporation, it was purchased by Ventura Bus Lines in January 2012.
Moorabbin Transit was a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia. As a Melbourne bus company, it operated 11 bus routes under contract to the Government of Victoria. A subsidiary of Grenda Corporation, it was purchased by Ventura Bus Lines in January 2012.
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.
Portsea Passenger Service was a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia. As a Melbourne bus company, it operated four bus routes under contract to the Government of Victoria. A subsidiary of Grenda Corporation, it was purchased by Ventura Bus Lines in January 2012.
Peninsula Bus Lines was a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. As a Melbourne bus company, it operated 18 bus routes under contract to the Government of Victoria. A subsidiary of Grenda Corporation, it was purchased by Ventura Bus Lines in January 2012.
US Bus Lines was a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was a Melbourne bus company that operated six bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It was acquired by Ventura Bus Lines in December 2009.
Transdev Melbourne was a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia, that operated the Melbourne Bus Franchise with a fleet of 534 buses on 49 bus routes from August 2013 until January 2022, when the franchise was awarded to Kinetic Melbourne. It operated approximately 30% of Melbourne's bus network. It was a subsidiary of Transdev Australasia.
North & Western Bus Lines was an Australian bus company operating route bus services and charter coaches in Sydney.
Dyson Group of Companies, operating as Dysons, is a bus and coach operator in Victoria, Australia. The oldest of its subsidiary companies is L.C. Dysons Bus Services, which was founded in June 1952 and is based in Bundoora in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.
Quince's Scenicruisers is a bus and coach charter operator in Melbourne, Australia.
Parramatta-Ryde Bus Service was an Australian bus company operating route bus services and charter coaches in Sydney.
Melbourne bus route 901 is a bus route operated by Kinetic Melbourne between Frankston station and Melbourne Airport in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the SmartBus network.