A group of bus enthusiasts have celebrated the retirement of six "bendy" buses by chartering one of the buses for
A group of bus enthusiasts have celebrated the retirement of six “bendy” buses by chartering one of the buses for a final grand tour of the Brisbane suburbs it serviced over its 21-year lifespan.
The Volgren-bodied Volvo B10M Mark II articulated buses, run by the Brisbane City Council, were taken off the road in June. All had travelled between 1.35 million and 1.47 million kilometres each.
The buses were withdrawn from regular passenger services in June to be sold to private bus companies or broken up for scrap and spare parts.
The Council is replacing the retired articulated buses with eight 14.5 metre-long rigid buses. The new vehicles have slotted into the routes previously serviced by the retired vehicles.
A Council spokesman says 36 bendy buses remain in service. Six are due for retirement in around two years time.
The remaining 30 buses are new Compressed Natural Gas articulated buses and are only one-to-two years old, he says.
The recognisable vehicles were first introduced to Brisbane in 1988 during the World Expo celebrations.
Public transport lobbyist Robert Dow, who heads commuter rights group Rail Back on Track, says the vehicles were innovative for their time.
“This is an important historical highlight of bus transport in Brisbane,” he says.
“Well done to all the drivers and maintenance crew over the years who kept them running.”
Brisbane City Council will have about 1012 buses on the road by the end of July 2009, the spokesman says.