Melbourne bus route 901

Last updated

Route 901
Victoria bus logo.svg
Ventura Mercedes Benz O500LE Smartbus at The Pines.jpg
Ventura Bus Lines Volgren bodied Mercedes-Benz OC500LE on route 901 in April 2013
Overview
Operator Kinetic Melbourne
Vehicle Gemilang & Volgren bodied Scanias
Began service24 March 2008
Former operator(s) Transdev Melbourne
Ventura Bus Lines
Grenda's Bus Services
Invicta Bus Services
East West Bus Company
Route
Start Frankston station
Via Dandenong station
Westfield Knox
Ringwood station
Blackburn station
Greensborough station
South Morang station
Broadmeadows station
Gladstone Park
End Melbourne Airport
Length115 kilometres
Service
LevelDaily
Frequency15-30 minutes
Journey time4 hours
Zone(s) Myki Zone 2
Timetable PTV

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.

Contents

History

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, orbital bus routes began being introduced in Melbourne as an alternative form of public transport to trains which allowed people to get to major areas without needing to go via the city. SmartBus Route 901 was introduced on 24 March 2008 as the yellow orbital and operated from Frankston station to Ringwood station, absorbing route 665 (operated by Invicta Bus Services) and routes 830 (operated by Grenda's Bus Services). [1] The new route was initially jointly operated by Grenda's and Invicta, and the latter was bought over by Grenda in 2009. [2]

In September 2010, route 901 was extended to Melbourne Airport, replacing part of East West Bus Company route 571, making it Melbourne's second longest bus route by distance and longest by total journey time. [3] [4] [5] East West then also became an operator of the route. [6] [7]

In 2012, the route became operated by East West and Ventura Bus Lines, after Ventura bought Grenda. [8] [9] The route was then fully taken over by Transdev Melbourne in 2013, [10] and then by Kinetic Melbourne in January 2022. [11] [12]

Route

Route 901 operates from Frankston station to Melbourne Airport via the outer eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne. It travels via Dandenong station, Westfield Knox, Ringwood station, Blackburn station, The Pines Shopping Centre, Greensborough Station, South Morang station, Epping station, Broadmeadows station and Gladstone Park. [13]

Vehicles

Route 901 was initially operated by a dedicated fleet of Volgren bodied Mercedes-Benz OC500LEs painted in SmartBus silver and orange livery, with Grenda and East-West later supplementing the Mercedes-Benz fleet with Volvo B7RLEs, and Invicta with Scania K230UBs. These have been superseded by Gemilang and Volgren bodied Scania K320UBs in standard Public Transport Victoria livery.[ citation needed ] As of 2022, Volgren bodied Scania K320HB hybrid buses are also in service alongside their diesel counterparts.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westmeadows, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Westmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km (9.9 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Westmeadows recorded a population of 6,502 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburn railway station, Melbourne</span> Railway station in Melbourne, Australia

Blackburn railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, serving the eastern Melbourne suburb of Blackburn in Victoria, Australia. Blackburn is a ground-level premium station, featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces and one side platform connected by an accessible underground concourse. It opened on 25 December 1882.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kananook railway station</span> Railway station in Melbourne, Australia

Kananook railway station is a commuter railway station on the Frankston line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Seaford, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Kananook station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 25 August 1975, with the current station provided in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitcham railway station, Melbourne</span> Railway station in Melbourne, Australia

Mitcham railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, serving the eastern Melbourne suburb of Mitcham in Victoria, Australia. Mitcham is a below ground premium station, featuring two side platforms connected by a ground level concourse. It opened on 25 December 1882, with the current station provided in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heatherdale railway station</span> Railway station in Victoria, Australia

Heatherdale railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, serving the eastern Melbourne suburb of Ringwood in Victoria, Australia. Heatherdale is a below ground host station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 7 September 1958, with the current station provided in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volgren</span> Australian bus manufacturer

Volgren is an Australian bus and coach body manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perth Central Area Transit</span>

The Perth Central Area Transit system, or simply CAT, consists of five bus routes in the centre of Perth and three bus routes in Joondalup. CAT services formerly operated in Fremantle, and similar services exist in Rockingham and Midland. Unlike all other Transperth services, most CAT routes are free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buses in Melbourne</span> Australian Transportation

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventura Bus Lines</span> Bus company in Melbourne, Australia

Ventura Bus Lines is a large bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, operating a fleet of 927 buses on 141 bus routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne Bus Link</span>

Melbourne Bus Link was an Australian bus and coach operator in Melbourne. It was a Melbourne bus company that operated nine bus routes under contract to the Public Transport Victoria. Melbourne Bus Link ceased operations on 3 August 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SmartBus</span> Network of bus services in Melbourne, Australia

SmartBus is a network of bus services in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Overseen by Public Transport Victoria, the network comprises nine key cross-town and orbital bus routes around Melbourne. Key aspects of the service include more frequent services, extended hours of operation to include late evening and Sunday services, improved timetable information at bus stops, roadspace priority along certain routes and priority at particular traffic lights. Busses on SmartBus routes are shared among three operators, with route 900 being operated by both Ventura Bus Lines and CDC Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grenda Corporation</span> Australian bus and coach company

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsbus</span> Bus company

Hillsbus was an Australian bus company that operated services in the Hills District of Sydney. Founded in 2004 when National Express merged its Glenorie Bus Company and Westbus subsidiaries, it was later part of ComfortDelGro Australia. In early 2023, the Hillsbus brand was replaced by ComfortDelGro's CDC NSW brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East West Bus Company</span> Bus operator in Melbourne, Australia

East West Bus Company was a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia. Formed as a joint venture between Dysons and Reservoir Bus Company in 1980, it became fully owned by Dysons in February 2014. It operated three bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria until the brand was phased out in 2019.

Invicta Bus Services 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coolaroo railway station</span> Railway station in Coolaroo, Melbourne, Australia

Coolaroo railway station is a commuter railway station on the North East line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Coolaroo, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Coolaroo station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 6 June 2010.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transdev Melbourne</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinetic Melbourne</span> Bus operator

Kinetic Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia, operating a fleet of 602 buses on 45 bus routes, as well as seven SmartBus routes. It commenced operations on 31 January 2022, taking over all routes previously operated by Transdev Melbourne. It is a subsidiary of the Kinetic Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne bus route 202</span> Bus route in Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne bus route 202 is a limited-stop bus route operated by Kinetic Melbourne between Yarra Bend Park and the University of Melbourne's Parkville campus in Melbourne, Australia.

References

  1. "SmartBus network expands in Melbourne's South East". Metlink. 10 March 2008. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008.
  2. Route 901 timetable Metlink
  3. Doncaster DART set to start Australasian Bus & Coach 2 September 2010
  4. SmartBus Route 901 Department of Transport. Archived on 26 February 2011
  5. Introduction of Doncaster Dart and extended 901 Smart Bus services Australian Bus Panorama issue 26/3 November 2010 page 18
  6. "East West Bus Company". Wongm's Rail Gallery. Retrieved 17 July 2024.[ self-published source ]
  7. "Bus Timetables and Route Details". East West Bus Company. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011.
  8. Ventura buys Grenda Australian Bus issue 49 January 2012 page 5
  9. Ventura takes over Grenda's bus operations Australian Bus Panorama issue 27/4 January 2012 page 7
  10. Transdev to begin operating the Melbourne Metropolitan Bus Franchise from Sunday 4 August Public Transport Victoria 2 August 2013
  11. New bus franchise to jump start zero-emission pledge Department of Transport
  12. Kinetic wins Victorian Government Contract to run a third of Melbourne's bus network Kinetic Group 5 October 2021
  13. Route 901 timetable Archived 19 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine Public Transport Victoria