ACTION

This article is about an Australian bus service. For the U.S. government agency, see ACTION (U.S. government agency).

File:Wikipedia ACTION logo.png
Mode	Commuter bus
Operator	ACT Government
Founded	19 July 1926
Areas served	Belconnen, Gungahlin, Canberra Central, Woden Valley, Weston Creek, Tuggeranong
Corporate colours	Green, orange and white
Slogan	Going your way.
Interchanges/ Bus stations	Belconnen (3 bus stations), City, Woden (Phillip), Tuggeranong (Greenway)
Depots	Belconnen, Woden (Phillip), Tuggeranong (Greenway)
Website	www.action.act.gov.au

ACTION is a public bus service operating in Canberra, ACT, Australia. It is operated by the Department of Territory and Municipal Services. The name ACTION is an acronym of Australian Capital Territory Internal Omnibus Network.

Other bus services in Canberra are operated by Deane's Transit Group through their Deane's Buslines, Airliner and Transborder Express brands.

There are no other modes of public transport operating within the ACT.

History

ACTION's first Mercedes-Benz O.305 bus at Spence Terminus.

Within Australia, the Canberra Bus Service (later known as "ACTION") was:

• one of the first operators of the AEC Renown buses (1926)
• one of the first operators of AEC Regal buses (1933)
• the first operater of a diesel bus (1943)
• the first operator of an AEC air suspended bus (1960)
• the first Government operator of a Leyland Leopard (1962)
• one of the first operators of AEC Swift buses (1967)
• one of the first Government operators to buy a rear engined bus (1967)
• the first operator of Volvo City buses (1972)
• the first Government operator of MAN SL200 buses (1975)
• the first operator of a German VÖV designed bus (MAN SL200) (1975)
• the first operator of an articulated bus (MAN SG192) (1976)
• the first operator to buy buses with integral retarders (MAN SG192/SL200)(1978)
• the first operator of a Mercedes-Benz O.305 built essentially to the German VÖV design (1981)

The first public bus service in Canberra was run by the Commonwealth Department of Public Works for the benefit of the workers constructing buildings in the new city. Starting in October 1923, the service originated from construction camps and 'tent cities' at the Causeway and Pialligo and the temporary railhead at Eastlake (now Kingston). Two Charabancs carried people to various building sites in Canberra City and Parkes.

The general public was first served in July 1925 when a private operator, Mrs Helen Barton, began running buses between Ainslie and Eastlake into the only shopping centre in Queanbeyan. Although a privately owned service linking Queanbeyan and Canberra still operates today, private operations within Canberra were short lived because the Federal Capital Commission started its own service in July 1926.

Four AEC Renown buses provided the Commission's service that ran between a southern terminus at Eastlake and a northern terminus at Ainslie, using several different routes. This route pattern was maintained for the next 25 years.

With the opening of Parliament House in May 1927 and the associated relocation of Commonwealth Government Departments to Canberra, the frequency of service offered by the Canberra City Omnibus Service increased as the population of the new city grew.

During the early 1950s bus services were expanded to Narrabundah, Yarralumla and O'Connor. These routes were extended further in the late 1950s with the development of Dickson and Campbell. Almost all the buses served the Kingston and Manuka shopping centres.

The first Woden Valley (Hughes) service was introduced on 19 August 1963 following the first occupancy of houses in 1963. Similar early services were provided for other areas. From 1961 the new Russell Offices complex demanded a growing number of additional peak services, including feeders from the City. The Canberra fleet had grown from 25 buses in 1942 to over 90 by 1966.

On 25 March 1968, after much consultation and consideration, a reformed bus system for Canberra began. This involved new bus timetables and driver schedules, based on not less than half–hourly services on all routes throughout the day with synchronised movements through the main centres. This new system included the first express bus service between Woden and the City (Route 16) and created the need for an interchange at Woden between express and local services. A temporary 'on street' interchange was established on Melrose Drive, Lyons.

Canberra's first off street bus interchange at the Woden Town Centre was opened on 4 December 1972. It was one of the first purpose-built suburban bus terminals in Australia.

On 14 February 1977, a new system was unveiled - the Australian Capital Territory Internal Omnibus Network (ACTION) - in association with a major program to upgrade the service by the purchasing of new vehicles, a new range of pre-purchased tickets, passenger facilities such as shelters and a new colour scheme for the buses.

In June 2008, to coincide with the launch of Network 08, ACTION's logo and corporate colours were modified.

Routes

Main article: Canberra bus routes

ACTION's route and timetable information can be found at http://www.action.act.gov.au/routes_timetables.html.

The current network of routes, Network 08, commenced 2 June 2008. Although these routes were designed to be operated seven days a week, a separate network operates during weekends and public holidays.

A major change to routes and timetables occurred in May 2009 due to the replacement of Belconnen Interchange by three on street bus stations. Please note that references in this article to interchanges may include the Belconnen Bus Stations.

Intertown

The Intertown services provide a high-frequency link between Belconnen, City, Woden and Tuggeranong. Prior to Network 1998 it operated as route 333; currently the Intertown services consist of the 300 series routes during weekdays and route 900 on weekends and public holidays.

During weekday daytime, Intertown routes travel from suburbs in Belconnen or Tuggeranong then travel through all interchanges along the Intertown trunk route and terminate at the last interchange (and vice-versa). At night the Intertown service consists only of Route 300 which travels between all interchanges.

On weekends and public holidays, the Intertown service operates as Route 900 which travels between the all interchanges as well as the Erindale Centre. Some Route 900 services on Saturday service only Woden, City and Belconnen.

Most Intertown services are operated by buses fitted with bicycle racks and many are operated by wheelchair accessible buses.

MAN 18.320 operating Redex service

Redex

Redex (Rapid Express Direct) Route 727 is a limited stop service between Gungahlin Town Centre, Northbourne Avenue, City Interchange, Russell, Barton and the Canberra Railway Station. It operates every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm weekdays. The service commenced on 16 November 2009 as a trial service, however in the 2010 ACT Budget it was announced that Redex would become a permanent service and be extended to Fyshwick, stopping at the Direct Factory Outlets centre. The extended service is due to commence in October 2010.

All Redex services are intended to be operated by wheelchair accessible buses fitted with bicycle racks.

Unfortuantely with more REDEX stops added to the route between Civic and Gungahlin, it is no longer the express service touted by the government.

Regular route services

ACTION's regular weekday services are identified by a one- or two- digit route number. These routes operate either as feeder services to a single interchange or connect two or three interchanges via suburban streets.

During weekends and public holidays, all bus services use a three-digit route number in the 9** range. These services generally do not provide the same level of service as the weekday services.

Dennis Dart operating Xpresso route 749

Xpresso

Xpresso services are routes which operate during weekday peak hours to provide direct links to the City, Parliamentary Triangle, Airport Business Parks and Fyshwick or direct services between interchanges bypassing the City. These services are designed to reduce the travel time for commuters to get to and from work.

Xpresso services are numbered 7**, except for route 170, which is classed as an Xpresso Route but travels along the Intertown trunk route between Woden and City Interchanges.

Other peak services

Other weekday peak hour services operate as an extension to existing route services. These routes are numbered as 1** and 2** where ** represents the two numbers of the regular route service. The 100 series routes travel along the Intertown trunk route between Woden and City Interchanges. The 200 series routes travel via Barton, Kings Avenue, Russell Offices then either Constitution Avenue and the City or to Campbell Park.

School services

School services are provided by ACTION to public and private primary schools, high schools and colleges. These have route numbers between 401 and 899. These services can only be accessed by school students and staff, and are not used by the general public. They are not listed on timetables at bus stops.

Details of school services can be found at http://www.action.act.gov.au/school_services.html

Ticketing and fares

ACTION uses a Parkeon (formerly Wayfarer Transit Systems) ticketing system. Two types of tickets are used: printed paper tickets for single trip fares issued on buses and magnetic stripe tickets. Magnetic stripe tickets must be validated on boarding using the ticket validator located near the bus entrance. Portable validators operate at the Woden and City Interchanges during peak times to allow pre-validation and rear-door boarding.

ACTION is set to replace the current ticketing system with a smartcard based system to be known as MyWay. The new system, which is due to commence in late 2010, will be a 'tag on - tag off' system similar to Transperth's SmartRider system and will use Parkeon equipment including Wayfarer 200 consoles and Axio smartcard validators. The system is being installed by Parkeon's Australian distributor, Downer EDi.

The following fares are effective from 1 July 2010:

Ticket type	Purchased on bus	Pre-purchased	Adult	Concession	School Student	Notes
Single trip	Yes	No	$ 4.00	$ 2.00 (A)		90 minute transfer available on request - no distance limit.
Off-peak Daily	Yes	Yes	$ 4.60	$ 1.70 (A)		Valid for travel weekdays 9am - 4.30pm and after 6pm and all day weekends and public holidays.
Daily	Yes	Yes	$ 7.60	$ 3.80 (A)
Faresaver 10	No	Yes	$25.20	$12.60 (B)	$ 9.50 (C)	Ten trip ticket (each trip includes 90 minute transfer).
Weekly	No	Yes	$28.20	$14.10 (A)
Monthly	No	Yes	$92.50	$46.25 (A)
School term	No	Yes			$62.20 (C)

A - separate school ticket not available - concession ticket includes student
B - can be used by students at all times
C - ACT Primary, High School and Secondary College students - valid on school days (not weekends, public or school holidays)

Pre-purchased tickets are available from ACTION ticket agents which include local shops and newsagencies.

Fleet

Renault PR100.3 at Tuggeranong Interchange in ACTION's former orange, white and blue colours.

Scania K230UB CNG at City Interchange

Toyota Hiace Commuter at City Interchange

ACTION's regular service fleet comprises over 420 buses, made up of the following models:

• Renault PR100.2 (Ansair "Metro" MkI, rigid) - 83
• Renault PR100.2 (Ansair "Metro" MkII, rigid) - 112 ( - 78)
• Renault PR180.2 (Ansair "Metro" MkI, articulated) - 26
• Renault PR180.2 (Ansair "Metro" MkII, articulated) - 7
• Renault PR100.3 (Austral Denning "Starliner", rigid) - 42 ( - 4)
• Dennis Dart SLF Euro II Diesel (Wright "Crusader", low-floor medium rigid) - 25
  These vehicles were built in the United Kingdom with the chassis built at the Dennis plant at Guildford, England and the bodies at Wright's plant at Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
• Irisbus Agora Line Euro II Diesel (Custom Coaches "CB60", low-floor rigid, air conditioned) - 20
• Scania L94UB CNG (Custom Coaches "CB60", low-floor rigid, air conditioned) - 54
• MAN A69 18.310 HOCL-NL CNG (Custom Coaches "CB60 Evo II", low-floor rigid, air conditioned) - 16
• MAN A69 18.310 HOUCL-R-NL Euro IV Diesel (Custom Coaches "CB60 Evo II", low-floor rigid, air conditioned) - 2
• MAN A69 18.320 HOUCL-R-NL Euro V Diesel (Custom Coaches "CB60 Evo II", low-floor rigid, air conditioned) - 31
  ACTION has ordered 72 of these buses to be delivered between August 2009 and June 2011.
• Scania K320UB 6x2*4 steer-tag Euro V Diesel (Custom Coaches "CB60 Evo II", low-floor rigid tri-axle, air conditioned) - 4
  ACTION has ordered 26 of these buses to be delivered between February 2010 and June 2012.
• Scania K230UB CNG (Custom Coaches "CB60 Evo II", low-floor rigid, air conditioned) - 1
  This bus is an evaluation vehicle on loan from Scania. It is fitted with a OC9 G04 270 hp CNG engine.

Bicycle racks have been fitted to the front of many buses in the fleet (as denoted by ). Each rack can hold two bicycles. Passengers may load a bicycle onto the rack for free, but must pay a regular fare to travel on the bus.

The Irisbus Agora Lines, Scania L94s, MAN A69s and Scania K320s sport a green, orange and white livery. Apart from buses with all over advertising or special designs, the remainder of the ACTION bus fleet have a livery featuring ACTION's former corporate colours of blue, orange and white.

ACTION's Special Needs Transport division operates a fleet of mini buses (Hino AC140s and Fuso Rosas). These buses do not operate on regular route services.

ACTION's vehicles also include Toyota Hiace Commuter vans driven by supervisors which can be used to transport passengers in case of a bus breaking down, Hino Dutro trucks used by mechanics to attend broken down buses and a single Mack tow truck.

Infrastructure

Bus stations and Interchanges

Cohen Street Bus Station, Belconnen

A Bollard Style Stop

Concrete bunker shelter outside Old Parliament House, Parkes

ACTION operates three bus interchanges and three bus stations, which act as hubs for the districts of Canberra.

• City Interchange (opened 1982 and remodelled 2000) serves Gungahlin and Canberra Central;
  Signage calls it Civic Bus Interchange, however ACTION always refers to it as City Interchange
• Woden Interchange (opened 1972, second stage opened 1982) serves Woden Valley, Weston Creek and Tuggeranong;
• Tuggeranong Interchange (opened 1991) serves Tuggeranong.
• Located in Belconnen Town Centre are three bus stations (opened 2009) - Cameron Avenue, Lathlain Street and Cohen Street - which serve Belconnen and Gungahlin;

City Interchange is located on East Row, Mort Street, Alinga Street and Northbourne Avenue. Limited local access is permitted on Mort and Alinga Streets, while East Row is a bus-only street. Woden Interchange also allows for some essential traffic while Tuggeranong Interchange allows access to buses and emergency vehicles only.

Belconnen Town Centre is serviced by two temporary bus stations on Cameron Avenue and Lathlain Street and a third, permanent, station on Cohen Street outside the bus depot. All bus routes travelling to Belconnen Town Centre service all three stations. The two new Belconnen Bus Stations, which are expected to be completed by November 2010, will be located outside Westfield Belconnen (at the corner of Cohen Street and Lathlain Street) and near the Australian Bureau of Statistics office (at the site of the former Belconnen Interchange).

Bus stops

Yellow and black signs and posts mark bus stops in the ACT. Most stops consist of a steel pole with a rectangular "Bus Stop" sign, however there remains some stops with a wooden post with the words "Signal Bus". Orange bollard style stops have been installed along major routes, such as the Intertown and along Northbourne Avenue; they include timetable and route information.

Many Canberra bus stops feature a concrete bunker bus shelter (see photo) which were first installed in 1975. These shelters are an iconic feature of Canberra. There are a variety of other bus shelters within the ACT; currently Adshel holds a contract to install and maintain bus shelters (both with and without advertising) in the ACT.

Depots

ACTION has three bus depots to house its bus fleet.

• Belconnen Bus Depot, Cohen Street, Belconnen, includes a bus wash, workshop, undercover bus parking, diesel refill, drivers amenities, administrative area and the communications centre.

• Tuggeranong Bus Depot, Scollay Street, Greenway, includes a bus wash, workshop, undercover bus parking, CNG and diesel fuelling facilities, drivers amenities and administrative area. Located next to the depot is ACTION House, which was previously ACTION’s headquarters, but is now leased to the Australian Government for a department of Medicare Australia.

• Woden Transport Depot, Prospect Court, Phillip, stores the Special Needs Transport mini bus fleet and buses which are not in service.

External links

• ACTION website
• Deane's Transit Group website
• Parkeon
• Custom Coaches
• Adshel
• ACTBus.net Unofficial bus enthusiast website