Buses in Melbourne, Australia, are a major form of public transport in Melbourne, with an extensive bus network. There are around 400 routes in operation with a varying range of service frequencies, (including the Night Network and SmartBus Network, excluding Kew School Services) operated by privately owned bus companies under franchise from the State Government, under the Public Transport Victoria branding. Most of the bus network is covered by the myki ticketing system.
Several private operators provide bus services to Melbourne's major airports, the most significant of which is SkyBus. These services do not utilise the myki ticketing system.
Some local government councils operate free local community bus services within their local areas. There are also tourist bus services in the CBD and nearby tourist attractions.
While the city relies predominantly on an inner-city tram network and radial train network, the outer suburbs of Melbourne are primarily serviced by bus. Melbourne's buses also provide a local feeder to Melbourne's train and tram network.
Current public transport bus operators Operator Contract name(if any) Start date ofcurrent contract End date ofcurrent contract Reference Region Routes CDC Melbourne Dark Blue 1 July 2025 30 June 2035 North west Melbourne See List of bus routes in Melbourne Purple and Orange 1 July 2025 30 June 2035 Western Melbourne Teal 1 July 2025 30 June 2035 South east Melbourne Cranbourne Transit 1 August 2018 30 June 2028 Cranbourne Dysons Green and Pink 1 July 2025 30 June 2035 North-east Melbourne Kinetic Melbourne Metropolitan Bus Franchise 31 January 2022 30 June 2031 New bus franchise to jump start zero-emission pledge Department of TransportInner-west and inner-east Melbourne Brown 1 July 2025 30 June 2035 Inner-north Melbourne Martyrs Bus Service(Owned by Dineen Group) 1 August 2018 30 June 2025 (original, since extended) Yarra Valley McKenzie's Tourist Services(Owned by Dineen Group) 1 August 2018 30 June 2025 (original, since extended) Yarra Valley SkyBus(Owned by Kinetic Group) 1 July 2018 30 June 2023 (original, since extended) Melbourne Airport Sunbury Bus Service(Owned by Donric Group) 1 July 2018 30 June 2028 Sunbury Transit Systems Victoria 1 July 2018 30 June 2028 Inner-west and western Melbourne Ventura Bus Lines 1 July 2018 30 June 2028 Eastern and south-east Melbourne
History Early history
The Melbourne Motor Omnibus Company was formed in 1912 to be the first motor bus operator in Melbourne.The Land Sydney 12 April 1912 page 15 The company imported a Daimler CC bus from England, which was put to exhaustive tests under local conditions.The Land Sydney 12 July 1912 page 15 The bus held 20 persons inside and 14 to 16 on the upper deck.Leader Newspaper Melbourne 27 July 1912 page 22 The bus was imported as a complete vehicle, but for future buses cab chassis were to be imported with local Australian coach builders able to make the bus body following the example from the test vehicle.The Land, Sydney 20 September 1912 page 15
The Daimler CC bus arrived in November 1912, and featured a Knight sleeve valve engine rated at 40 h.p., a silent chain type gearing system and a worm type gear box. This was the same vehicle that the London County Council had just ordered 400 units of to extend their services around London.Leader Newspaper Melbourne 16 November 1912 page 22
On Christmas Eve 1912 it was reported that the Daimler CC Double Decker bus "glided swiftly and silently along the city streets".The Age 25 December 1912 page 4 The bus at this stage was soon to be plying for hire between Brunswick East and Swanston Street.The Sun 28 December 1912 page 5 In January 1913 it was reported that the Daimler bus had been remarkably well patronised with the bus complimented for its "smooth running of the engine, noiseless gears, and the quiet and easy manner in which the load is taken up when starting".The Land Sydney 24 January 1913 page 16
On 25 January it was reported that the Lord Mayor of Melbourne (Councillor Hennessy) and members of the Melbourne City Council were treated to a bus ride to St Kilda and back on one of the Daimler buses that the Melbourne Omnibus Motor Company was about to put into service.The Argus Melbourne 25 January 1913 page 20 By the end of February another shipment of Daimler buses was to be imported. At this time the company had drawn up contracts for the construction of the bodies locally. The design was to be based on the same as used on the Daimler bus bodies used in London.The Land Sydney 28 February 1913 page 16
In May 1913 it was reported that a number of routes had been established and at this time a new line between St Kilda and Brunswick East had been opened.Punch Melbourne 29 May 1913 page 46
In November 1913 it was documented that the Melbourne Motor Omnibus Company employed over 100 people. In regard to the imported Daimler bus fleet, Australian contractors had at this time completed 18 bus bodies.The Leader Melbourne 8 November 1913 page 24 One of the main local contractors used for the coach building was Messrs. Jas. Flood and Co.Punch Melbourne 20 November 1913 page 42
January 1914 the newspapers advised that the Melbourne Motor Omnibus Company was considering implementing an all night bus service between the city and the principal suburbs.The Argus Melbourne 31 January 1914 page 19
March 1914 also saw the inauguration of half hourly bus services on a Sunday between Melbourne and Prahran.Prahan Chronicle Melbourne 7 March 1914 page 2 At this time routes also existed through the city to St Kilda, North Melbourne, Flemington Bridge, Brunswick, Doncaster and Heidelberg.Punch, Melbourne 16 April 1914 page 38 In June 1914 the business commenced a trial run of daily services to Kew.Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell Citizen Melbourne 5 June 1914 page 5 In October 1914 Sunday morning routes were established from Fitzroy and Northcote to Melbourne.Preston Leader Melbourne 10 October 1914 page 2
In July 1914 the Melbourne Motor Omnibus Company moved the garaging of all its buses to Tinning Street, Melbourne. At this time the business had 20 Daimler buses in service, two due to be put into service within a week, and three more by the end of the month, making 25 the total Daimler fleet.Brunswick & Coburg Leader Melbourne 10 July 1914 page 1
On 5 November 1914 it was documented that the Sunshine Motor Company who were the national distributors of Daimler commercial vehicles had 22 Daimler bus and truck chassis sold but before they could set sail for Australia from England war was declared. Vehicles from the Daimler factory had been commandeered by the British Government and this would be so while the war was on.Punch, Melbourne 5 November 1914 page 9 With the outbreak of war and the British Governments ban on the export of motor buses the Melbourne Motor Omnibus company could not increase its fleet to adequately meet the increased demand for services. The total number of passengers carried for the year ended 30 June 1914 was 3,141,000 and covered some 459,345 miles. This meant the average Daimler bus in service travelled 34,020 miles.Brunswick and Coburg Leader Melbourne 20 November 1914 page 1
In addition to the Daimler double decker buses in operation by the Melbourne Motor Omnibus Co, many of Melbourne's private bus operators began by running jitney-style seven-seat buses. The use of these small buses may have been an attempt to circumvent State government road regulations. While some of the early operators ran fixed routes with regular timetables, there was no State Government agency to regulate the routes, or officially recognise them. A number of companies competed with trams, running along tram routes but charging lower fares. The Motor Omnibus Act of 1924 disallowed bus competition along tramway routes.
The Trak Motor-bus Company was founded in 1923 by the bus pioneer and distinguished naval officer Fred Knight, with three other partners. All four men were former officers in the Royal Navy. Knight also established the Kintrack Motorbus Company in January 1924, with buses on the city to Caulfield route commencing in March 1924. Kintrak had the distinction of being the first to employ female bus conductors.
Ventura Bus Lines was founded in 1924 by Harry Cornwall, who began operating a bus route between Box Hill and the city, and later ran buses along dirt tracks between Box Hill and Mentone, which roughly equated to the 700 bus route, later integrated into the orbital 903 bus route. Ventura's first depot was at a petrol station on the corner of Station Street and Canterbury Road, in Box Hill South.
In 1925, the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (M&MTB) introduced the first tramways buses. Its first bus route ran down Swanston Street from La Trobe Street, and along Glen Huntly Road to Elsternwick station.
By the 1960s, unlike other Australian cities which had replaced their trams with buses, Melbourne was the only one which retained its major tram network. Melbourne resisted the trend to abolish tram systems partly because its wide streets, and generally geometric street pattern, made the use of trams more practicable than in many other cities. There was also the steadfast leadership of the chairman of the M&MTB, Robert Risson, who argued strongly that trams remained an efficient way of transporting large numbers of people, and that the cost of ripping up the concrete-embedded tram tracks would be prohibitive.
Grenda Corporation was founded in 1945 by George Grenda. After selling his milk truck, he purchased six small buses, four bus routes, and the primary foundations of a bus depot in Dandenong that eventually became Grenda's Bus Services.
1950s – 1960s From the 1950s onwards, Melbourne's bus operators began replacing jitneys with full-size buses.
Post World War II, bus use in Melbourne peaked in 1952–1953 at 157 million passenger trips. Melbourne's total population at the time was 1.5 million meaning that on average each resident used a bus 100 times per year.
Between 1952 and 1969, Ventura purchased Clarinda Transport, High Street Road Bus Service and Knibbs Bus Service. It also added a service between Blackburn and Clayton (roughly equivalent to the current 703 service), added Glen Waverley and East Burwood services, and (in 1957) opened its Oakleigh South depot at the corner of Centre and Warrigal Roads. Also during this time-frame, Ventura closed its Box Hill South depot and replaced it with a new depot at Mahoney's Road, East Burwood.
Unlike Melbourne's train and tram networks, up until the 1950s, buses in Melbourne were operated in a largely unregulated free market by private companies.
During the 1960s, the MMTB took over services in the north-eastern suburbs, after the bankruptcy of the private operator. The services would eventually be sold to the National Bus Company. The Tramways Board took the unprecedented step of running its buses to the same level of service as its trams – every 10 to 20 minutes until midnight seven days a week.
In 1969, Ventura purchased several bus routes around Mitcham from C Young.
1970s In 1970, Ventura acquired Boronia Bus Lines; the two purchases added 12 route services to the company.
Kefford Corporation entered the Victorian bus market in January 1976, when it acquired Point Cook - Werribee Passenger Service.
In 1973 Grenda purchased Peninsula Bus Lines and started Volgren in 1978 also based in Dandenong which has now become Australia's largest bus builder.
Regulation The collapse of many bus companies led to State Government intervention in Melbourne's bus network in the 1970s. Buses would eventually fall under the responsibility of the Public Transport Corporation. The Public Transport Corporation would take over running ticketing for Melbourne's bus network, and would contract out the operation of routes to various private operators.
1980s