Forest Coach Lines
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| Parent | Next Capital David Royle |
|---|---|
| Commenced operation | 1 March 1930 |
| Headquarters | Terrey Hills |
| Service area | Kuring-gai Warringah Willoughby Pittwater |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Depots | 1 |
| Fleet | 101 (January 2015) |
| Chief executive | David Royle |
| Website | www.forestcoachlines.com.au |
Forest Coach Lines is an Australian bus and coach operator in the northern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales.
Contents
History
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In March 1930 Eric and Trevor Royle trading as Royle Brothers, purchased routes 56 Chatswood station to Roseville Chase and 201 Roseville station to Roseville Chase from E Jones with three buses. In October 1941 the first service operated across the Roseville Bridge to Terrey Hills.[1][2]
In March 1947 route 52 Chatswood to Artarmon was purchased but quickly sold in November of that year.[3] From the late 1940s the Frenchs Forest area expanded rapidly and by 1960 the Royle Brothers fleet had expanded to 12 buses.[1]
The operation was renamed Forest Coach Lines in February 1964 and relocated to a new depot in Belrose. In May 1965 route 201 ceased. An expansion into coach charter saw Forest Trailways established with a separate depot in Manly Vale. Eric and Trevor Royle retired in the mid-1960s with the Trevor's sons Bernard and Tony taking over.[1]
In 1973 services were extended to Warringah Mall and in February 1982 to Duffys Forest. In August 1979 a new depot was opened in Terrey Hills to replace those at Belrose and Manly Vale.[1]
The Passenger Transport Act 1990 allowed Forest Coach Lines to commence operating services into the Sydney central business district in July 1992.[1][4] In August 1991 the Warringah Bus Lines operation was purchased from Shorelink[5] and in July 1998 part of St Ives Bus Service was purchased.[6][7]
In November 2012 it was announced that Forest had been successful in retaining the contract to operate Sydney Bus Region 14.[8][9]
In December 2014, a majority shareholding in the business was purchased by mid-market private equity firm Next Capital.[10][11]
Routes
Forest Coach Lines operate services in Sydney Bus Region 14:[12]
- 194: St Ives – Queen Victoria Building (Weekday Peak service)
- 195: St Ives – Gordon station
- 196: Mona Vale/Warriewood – Gordon station
- 197: Mona Vale – Macquarie University (via Gordon station)
- 260: Terrey Hills – North Sydney
- 270: Terrey Hills – Queen Victoria Building
- L70: Terrey Hills – Queen Victoria Building (Limited stops peak hour services)
- 271: Belrose - Queen Victoria Building
- 274: Davidson - Queen Victoria Building
- 277: Castle Cove – Chatswood station
- 278: Killarney Heights – Chatswood station
- 278: Forestville – Killarney Heights (off-peak shuttle service)
- 279: Frenchs Forest (Esplanade) – Chatswood station
- 280: Warringah Mall – Chatswood station
- 281: Davidson – Chatswood station
- 282: Davidson/Belrose – Chatswood station (early morning and evening service)
- 283: Belrose – Chatswood station
- 284: Duffys Forest – Terrey Hills/Chatswood station
- 1B: Warriewood - Sydney Olympic Park (special event services)
Fleet
Forest Coach Lines built up its fleet with Leyland buses. In 1972 it placed the first Volvo in Sydney in service. Since then most purchases have been on Volvo or Mercedes-Benz chassis. In March 2013 two Bustech CDi double deckers were introduced. As at January 2015, the fleet consisted of 101 buses and coaches.[13]
When the business was renamed Forest Coach Lines in February 1964, a new white and green livery was introduced. These remained the fleet colours until 2013 when as part of its new regional bus contract Forest was required to adopt the Transport for New South Wales white and blue livery.[14]
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 History Forest Coach Lines
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Services" Fleetline September 1992 page 173
- ↑ "Ownership changes" Fleetline February 1992 page 35
- ↑ "Ownership changes" Fleetline July 1998 page 131
- ↑ St Ives Bus Services, Australian Bus Fleet Lists, Accessed 24 March 2014
- ↑ Cut costs or bus contracts will go to private sector, minister tells drivers Sydney Morning Herald 7 November 2012
- ↑ Mixed Result for Private Bus Operators Bus & Coach Association NSW 7 November 2012
- ↑ Next Capital finalises Forest Australian Financial Review 8 December 2014
- ↑ Royle Family Sell Forest Coach Lines Transitgraphics.
- ↑ Timetables Forest Coach Lines
- ↑ Forest Coach Lines Australian Bus Fleet Lists
- ↑ Blue over green Forest Coach Lines buses Manly Daily 11 January 2013
