Ventura is a privately owned bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As of 2005, it is the largest private bus operator in Melbourne. As a Melbourne bus company, it operates a number of bus routes under contract from the Victorian State Government. The company has recently purchased the Melbourne operations of National Express' National Bus Company for A$45 million, and also owns Mount Dandy Bus. Routes operated by Ventura are predominantly located in Melbourne's eastern and northern suburbs. It also operates EastCoast, a business which services Scania buses and trucks. A genre [], (French: kind or sort from Greek: γένος (genos)) is a loose set of criteria for a category of literary composition; the term is also used for any other form of art or utterance. ... For the rap album, see 1924 (album). ... An entrepreneur (a loanword from French introduced and first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon) is a person who operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ... For the band, see Big Brother and the Holding Company. ... Look up slogan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... “Autobus” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Coach. ... The City of Melbournes coat of arms The central business district of Melbourne, viewed from the north Alternate meanings: Melbourne (disambiguation) Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia, with a population of 52,117 in the Central... Motto: Peace and Prosperity Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Governor HE Mr John Landy Premier Steve Bracks (ALP) Area 237,629 km² (6th)  - Land 227,416 km²  - Water 10,213 km² (4. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Melbourne, capital city of the State of Victoria, Australia, features an extensive bus network. ... This is a list of the numerous bus routes in Melbourne, Australia. ... National Express coach on route 561 National Express is the brand under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in the United Kingdom are marketed, and also the company that manages this network and operates some of the services. ... The National Bus Company, or NBC, was the Australian brand for National Express Groups mass transit bus services in Melbourne and Brisbane. ... A vintage Scania truck (L80 successor to the Scania-Vabis L56) Scania A1 1901 Scania Type A Tonneau 1903 Scania AB is a leading European manufacturer of heavy trucks (British English: lorries), buses, and diesel engines, based in Södertälje, Sweden. ...

Ventura buses feature a distinct light-blue livery, with a navy-blue stripe running horizontally across the sides of the bus, and Ventura's logo in yellow. New National buses also use this livery.

History

Early history

Ventura was founded in 1924 by a war veteran named Harry Cornwall. Cornwall had been an employee of Track & Kintrack, an operator based in St Kilda, but decided to form his own bus company when his employer refused to let him run a bus service along dirt roads through what was then Melbourne's outer east. Cornwall began operating a bus route between Box Hill and the city, and later running buses along dirt tracks between Box Hill and Mentone, which roughly equates to the modern 700 bus route. Its first depot was the petrol station on the corner of Station Street and Canterbury Road, in Box Hill South. For the rap album, see 1924 (album). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... St Kilda is a inner city suburb of the Victorian capital of Melbourne, Australia. ... Box Hill South is a suburb of Australia, in the state of Victoria. ...

1950s - 1970s

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 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. Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Waverley is the name of several different things. ... Burwood East is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Oakleigh South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Burwood East is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. ...

In 1969 purchased several bus routes around Mitcham from C Young. In 1970 Boronia Bus Lines was acquired; the two purchases added 12 route services to the company. Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Mitcham is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. ...

1980s

In 1987, Ventura acquired Bentleigh Bus Lines, Rennies Bus Services, Willis Bus Services and Hawthorn Bus Services. As a result of these purchases, it sold its East Burwood depot and replaced it with its Knoxfield depot. Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Burwood East is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. ... Knoxfield is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. ...

Quince's

In 1988, the then Metropolitan Transit Authority called for tenders on all of Melbourne's bus routes. Prior to the completion of tenders, Met employees reportedly told the Driver Group (then operating under the Waverley Transit brand) 'not to bother' entering tenders for some of their existing routes. At the completion of the tender process, 7 bus routes previously operated by Ventura, and 3 previously operated by Waverley Transit were tendered out to a company called Quince's, which had 60 buses used mostly for charter and school services. Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Metropolitan Transit Authority is the name of a governmental or quasi-governmental body in each of several areas: Metropolitan Transit Authority, now the Maryland Transit Administration — Baltimore, Maryland Metropolitan Transit Authority (Boston), now the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Bay Metropolitan Transit Authority — Bay County, Michigan Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority... Driver is a privately owned bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

In the case Waverley Transit V Metropolitan Transit Authority, Waverley Transit launched a Supreme Court challenge to the results of the tendering process. The verdict deemed that the State Government had acted inappropriately during the tendering process, and as the contract between the State Government and Quince's was illegal, thus restored the bus routes to Ventura and Waverley Transit. In the wake of this verdict, the Met launched an appeal, with Waverley Transit launching a counter-appeal; the cases lasted into the early 1990s. The final verdict of these cases pointed out that the licenses to operate bus routes, as well as the bus routes themselves, were legally the property of the respective bus companies and not the State Government.

In spite of this, Quince received the rights to operate a number of new cross-suburban bus routes cutting across a number of bus operator territories, including a route from Brighton to Lilydale.

1990s

In 1998, Quince's lost their bus routes. Ironically, Quince's long cross-suburban bus routes were broken up, with sections divided between Ventura and Driver (for instance, the Monash University - Brighton leg of one Quince's route became part of Ventura route 703, the Glen Waverley - Mitcham section became part of Ventura route 736). Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1999, the Minister for Transport, Peter Batchelor, released a Press Release congratulating Ventura on having provided 75 years of service. At the time of the press release, Ventura was already Victoria's 3rd largest bus company (Source). This article is about the year. ... Peter Batchelor (born 1950) is an Australian politician. ...

2000s

In 2000, Ventura purchased Mount Dandy Bus. In 2004, it purchased the National Bus Company from the National Express Group for A$45 million, becoming the largest private bus operator in Melbourne. While the company has announced that it will continue to use the National Bus Company brand until bus contracts come under re-tender in 2007, new National Buses are painted in the Ventura livery. Through National Express, Ventura purchased what remains of the old government fleet, which is often of particular interest to bus spotters, though this section of the fleet will be phased out over the coming years. Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Bus Company, or NBC, was the Australian brand for National Express Groups mass transit bus services in Melbourne and Brisbane. ... National Express Group plc (LSE: NEX) is a UK-based transport group that operates airport, bus and rail services in the UK, the US and Canada, Australia, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

2002 Onwards

On the 5th of August 2002, the Victorian State Government introduced the first SmartBus service (as a trial project) run by Ventura that replaced the old timetable of the 703 Middle Brighton Railway Station - Blackburn Railway Station with a new, high frequency SmartBus service on route 703 that offers:

• More services
• Better daytime frequency (Every 15 minutes during the daytime, every 30 minutes before and after the daytime period)
• Longer operating hours (Services to operate beyond midnight on weeknights)
• Real-time passenger information displays
• Better reliability

The other route which was introduced on the same day were the combined 888/889 route service operated by Grenda Bus Services on Springvale Road from Nunawading Railway Station to Chelsea Railway Station.

Due to the success of the initial SmartBus trial (patronage increased by up to 25%), the Victorian State Government have introduced another SmartBus service that Ventura operates, the route 700 service from Box Hill Railway Station to Mordialloc Railway Station along Warrigal Road. This was implemented on 14th of June 2005, in which this service improvement was delivered after a delay of a few months.

Bus Fleet

Ventura bought many Leyland buses between the 1950s and the 1980s. These were Leyland Leopards and Tiger Cubs, then later on the company purchased many Leyland Tigers. A number of these are still in service, but will probably be sold off in coming years. Ventura also purchased a substantial number of ex-Adelaide Leyland Worldmasters. Leyland Motors is a British vehicle manufacturer of lorries and buses. ... The Leyland Leopard was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis built by Leyland between 1959 and 1982. ... The Leylend Tiger was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis which was built between 1981 and 1991 to replace the Leyland Leopard. ...

The purchases of Bentleigh Bus Lines/Hawthorn Bus Service saw the fleet expand further. Many non-Leyland buses joined the fleet including Mercedes-Benz, Denning Elwoods, Volvo B10M's, Leyland Leopards, Isuzu ECR and Bedfords. Most of these buses were sold off by the early 1990s but the Elwoods survived in the fleet until 2001 (although a small number were sold off in 1993) and the B10M's remain in the fleet to this day. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Bedford was the first to use the Griffin logo Bedford Six WLG 2. ...

Ventura purchased a batch of 10 Mercedes-Benz O305's from the STA in Sydney in 1991. These were withdrawn between 1999 and 2001. O305 in Heppenheim, Germany. ...

When Ventura needed some new buses in 1992. Leyland had stopped producing chassis, so they had to find another supplier, they purchased two Scania L113s and a Volvo B10M with Volgren bodies for evaluation. They decided to purchase more Scanias after the evaluation period. A SBS Transit Volvo Super Olympian (Volgren-bodied) in Singapore. ...

Scania has been the main chassis used in the Ventura fleet. L113 chassis were bought in high and low floor format with both Volgren (delivered from 1992-98) and North Coast bodies (1998-99) and L94UBs with North Coast and Custom Coaches bodies entered the fleet between 1999 and 2006. The Scania L94 is a longitudinal inclined-engined bus built by Scania which was a direct replacement of Scania L113. ...

Ventura purchased a pair of Mercedes-Benz O500 chassis with North Coast bodies in 2003 for evaluation.

There is also a batch of Designline MAN's delivered to South Oakleigh depot by end of December 2006, and have been in service since 2 January 2007. Designline logo Designline bus operated by Hinomaru operating the Tokyo Bay Shuttle service Designline Olymbus hybrid bus operated by Hinomaru in Japan. ...

4 of them are in blue Ventura livery and the rest wear a Smartbus livery, similar to that adorning the Grendas and Eastrans Smartbuses used on Route 900.

Routes

• 688 Croydon - Olinda via Mt Dandenong
• 689 Croydon - Montrose via Kilsyth
• 690 Croydon - Boronia via Allambanan Drive
• 700 Box Hill - Mordialloc via Holmesglen, Chadstone, Oakleigh and Mentone
• 701 Oakleigh - Bentleigh
• 703 Blackburn - Middle Brighton via Syndal, Monash University, Clayton, Bentleigh
• 704 East Clayton - Oakleigh
• 732 Box Hill - Upper Ferntree Gully via K-Mart Burwood East, Vermont South and Knox City (Tramlink with Tram Route 75 between Vermont South and Knox City)
• 733 Box Hill - Oakleigh via Mount Waverley, Monash University and Clayton
• 734 Glen Waverley - Glen Iris via Ashburton
• 735 Box Hill - K-Mart Blackburn South (Bus destinations for route 735 is "K-Mart Blackburn South, however, the actual terminus for route 735 is in Burwood East) via Eley Road
• 736 Blackburn - Mitcham via Forest Hill, K-Mart Burwood East, Glen Waverley, Wantirna South and Vermont South
• 737 Croydon - Monash University via Boronia, Knox City and Glen Waverley
• 738 Mitcham - Knox City via Mountain Highway
• 740 Mitcham - Vermont (Peak only service)
• 742 Eastland - Chadstone via Heatherdale, Vermont South, Glen Waverley and Oakleigh
• 745 A Bayswater - Knox City via Boronia Road
• 745 B Bayswater - Boronia
• 745 C Bayswater - Wantirna Primary School
• 745 D Bayswater - Wantirna Primary School
• 753 Glen Waverley - Bayswater via Wheelers Hill and Boronia
• 754 Glen Waverley - Stud Park (Rowville) via Wheelers Hill
• 755 Knox City - Bayswater via Mountain Gate, Boronia and The Basin
• 757 Knox City - Borg Cr (Scoresby)
• 758 Knox City - Knoxfield Shops
• 765 Box Hill - Mitcham via Blackburn, Forest Hill and Brentford Square
• 766 Box Hill - Burwood via Surrey Hills
• 767 Box Hill - Southland via Deakin University and Chadstone S.C

• Routes 700 and 703 are part of the SmartBus network.

Livery

• Light Blue and Navy Blue (Ventura)
• Silver (Ventura Smart Bus)
• Red and Yellow (National)
• Yellow (National)
• Cyan (Melbourne Tourist Shuttle)

Depots

Former Depots:

• Box Hill South
• East Burwood

Current Depots:

• Knoxfield
• Oakleigh South
• Croydon
• Doncaster East (National brand)
• North Fitzroy (National brand)

Acquired Companies

• Bentleigh Bus Lines
• Boronia Bus Lines
• Clarinda Transport
• C Young
• Hawthorn Bus Services
• High Street Road Bus Service
• Knibbs Bus Service
• Mount Dandy Bus
• National Bus Company
• Rennies Bus Services
• Willis Bus Services

The National Bus Company, or NBC, was the Australian brand for National Express Groups mass transit bus services in Melbourne and Brisbane. ...

Brands

Brands operated by Ventura Motors include:

• National Bus Company http://www.nationalbus.com.au/
• Ventura Bus Lines http://www.venturabus.com.au/

The National Bus Company, or NBC, was the Australian brand for National Express Groups mass transit bus services in Melbourne and Brisbane. ...

See also

• List of Victorian Bus Companies
• List of Melbourne bus routes
• Buses in Melbourne

. ... This is a list of the numerous bus routes in Melbourne, Australia. ... Melbourne, capital city of the State of Victoria, Australia, features an extensive bus network. ...

External links

• Ventura's website