McHarry's Buslines
 | |
 Mills-Tui bodied Mercedes Benz OH1830 in October 2010 | |
| Founded | 1932 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Breakwater |
| Service area | Geelong & region |
| Service type | Bus & coach operator |
| Routes | 12 |
| Fleet | 185 (October 2015) |
| Website | www.mcharrys.com.au |
McHarry's Buslines is a family-owned bus company in Geelong, Victoria, dating back to 1932. It operates public transport bus routes in Geelong, and on the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast, as well as school bus and charter services. The company's main depot is in Breakwater, and there are smaller depots in Torquay, Ocean Grove, Queenscliff and Drysdale. There used to be a depot in Portarlington but it has been replaced by the one at Drysdale.
History
The origins of McHarry's Buslines date back to 1932, when John McHarry was employed at Ford's Geelong plant as a coach-builder. He transported his own employees to the plant in his truck, and it wasn't long before he was inundated with requests from other Ford workers for a ride to work. The current managing director of the company, also called John McHarry, is the grandson of the original owner. His son, Ashley McHarry, is the company's general manager.[1]
Livery
Following the inauguration of the Geelong Transit System (GTS) in the early 1980s, McHarry's public transport buses were obliged to be painted in the GTS livery. After 2000, however, the company's contract with the Victorian Government no longer required its GTS buses to wear the system livery, and so buses were progressively re-painted with McHarry's own new livery.
| Livery | Livery Summary |
|---|---|
| Geelong Transit System | Overall white, with two blue horizontal stripes and the letters "GTS" written in the middle, as seen here. This livery has been phased out and all buses have been repainted in the corporate livery. |
| Corporate | Overall white, with a red, yellow and black stripe, incorporating a stylised arrow head, as seen here. |
Routes
McHarry's operates a number of routes throughout the Geelong and surrounding regions.[2]
| Route | City Route |
|---|---|
| 19 | Geelong railway station to Deakin University via Waurn Ponds railway station |
| 20 | Geelong railway station to Deakin University via Grovedale |
| 45 | Corio to St Albans Park via North Geelong, Geelong West, Geelong City and East Geelong |
| 61 | Geelong railway station to Breakwater |
| 62 | Geelong railway station to St Albans Park |
| Route | Regional Route |
|---|---|
| 72 | Jan Juc to Marshall railway station via Torquay |
| 73 | Torquay to Jan Juc via Wombah Park (local circle route) |
| 74 | Geelong railway station to Jan Juc via Wombah Park and Torquay |
| 75 | Geelong railway station to Queenscliff via Leopold |
| 76 | Geelong railway station to Queenscliff via Ocean Grove |
| 77 | Geelong railway station to Leopold |
| 78 | Drysdale to Clifton Springs to Drysdale (local circle route) |
| 79 | Geelong railway station to St Leonards via Drysdale, Clifton Springs, Portarlington and Indented Head |
| 80 | Geelong railway station to Ocean Grove via Marshall railway station and Barwon Heads |
| 81 | Drysdale to Ocean Grove |
| 82 | Ocean Grove to Queenscliff |
| 83 | Geelong railway station to Ocean Grove via Wallington |
| Geelong railway station to Apollo Bay (V/Line Service)
As of June 2015 McHarry's operate the following services. 19: Geelong to Bannockburn via Batesford 30: Geelong to Whittington via Newcomb 31: Geelong to Whittington via St Albans Park 32: Geelong to Leopold via Shoaling Dr & Hoddle Dr 40: Geelong to Deakin Uni via Breakwater & Marshall Station 41: Geelong to Deakin Uni via Grovedale & Waurn Ponds Station 42: Geelong to Deakin Uni via South Valley Rd & Waurn Ponds Station 50: Geelong to Jan Juc via Wombah Park 51: Geelong to Jan Juc via Torquay 55: Geelong to Ocean Grove via Barwon Heads 56: Geelong to Queenscliff via Ocean Grove 60: Geelong to St Leonards via Drysdale & Portarlington 61: Geelong to Drysdale via Leopold & Clifton Springs |
Fleet
As at December 2015 the company's fleet consisted of 190 buses and coaches.[3]
References
- ^ "The McHarry's Story". McHarry's Buslines. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ "McHarry's Services". McHarry's Buslines. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- ^ "McHarry's Buslines, Geelong". busaustralia.com. Retrieved 28 September 2014.