ACTION

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

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.
Bus stations	Belconnen (3 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 ACT 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 and Royale Limousines, who operate the Airport Express service.

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

History

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

^[1] 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 operator 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 operator of anti-lock brakes on buses (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.

ACTION operates two separate networks of bus routes; one during weekdays and the other on weekends and public holidays. The latest change to the bus routes and timetables occurred on 15 November 2010.^[2]

Blue Rapid

Blue Rapid services provide a high-frequency link between the City and the bus stations at Belconnen, Woden and Tuggeranong Town Centres. Blue Rapid services consist of the 300 series routes on weekdays and route 900 on weekends and public holidays.

During weekday daytime, Blue Rapid routes commence from suburbs in Belconnen or Tuggeranong then travel through all bus stations along the trunk (or common) route and terminate at the last station (and vice-versa). At night the Blue Rapid service consists of Route 300 which travels only between bus stations, but does not extend to the suburbs.

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

All Blue Rapid services are scheduled to be operated by wheelchair accessible buses and most by buses fitted with bicycle racks.

MAN 18.320 operating Redex service

Red Rapid

Red Rapid Route 200 is a limited stop service between Gungahlin Town Centre, Northbourne Avenue, City Bus Station, Russell, Barton, the Canberra Railway Station and Fyshwick. It operates every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm weekdays.

The service commenced on 16 November 2009 under the name Redex (Rapid Express Direct) as a trial service between Gungahlin and the Railway Station. On 15 November 2010, the service was renamed Red Rapid, renumbered as route 200 and extended to the Direct Factory Outlets centre in Fyshwick.

All Red Rapid services are scheduled to be operated by wheelchair accessible buses and most by buses fitted with bicycle racks.

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 town centre or connect two or three town centres 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 bus stations 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 Blue Rapid trunk route between Woden and City Bus Stations.

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 Blue Rapid trunk route between Woden and City Bus Stations. 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

Cash fares (purchased on bus)

Effective from 1 July 2010:^[3]

Ticket type	Adult	Concession & Students (A)	Notes
Single trip	$ 4.00	$ 2.00	Ticket includes 90 minute transfer - no distance limit.
Daily	$ 7.60	$ 3.80

A - Student fares apply to Australian Primary, High School and Secondary College students and full-time students attending an accredited Australian tertiary education institution, not including a member of the Defence Force, who undertake at least 15 hours per week class time.

MyWay (pre-purchased fares)

MyWay is the pre-purchased ticketing system for use on ACTION buses.^[4] It uses credit card-sized contactless smart cards onto which credit is loaded. Passengers are required to 'tag on' when boarding the bus and 'tag off' when exiting, at which point the appropriate fare is calculated and, if required, deducted from the stored value in the MyWay card. MyWay cards were made available to ACT Seniors Card-holders on 21 February 2011 and released to the remainder of the community on 7 March 2011.

The MyWay system uses Parkeon software and equipment including Wayfarer 200 consoles^[5] and Axio card readers.^[6] The system was built and installed by Parkeon's Australian distributor, Downer EDi.^[7] Instead of being developed from scratch, MyWay was adapted from Transperth's SmartRider system which also uses Parkeon hardware and software.

MyWay fares

Effective from 14 February 2011:^[8]

Fare type	Adult	Concession (A)	Tertiary Student (B)	School Student (C)	Notes
School Day Single Trip	n/a	n/a	n/a	$0.95	Includes 90 minute transfer.
Weekday Single Trip - Peak	$2.52	$1.26	$1.26	$1.26 (G)	Includes 90 minute transfer. (D)
Weekday Single Trip - Off Peak	$2.00	$0.55	$1.26	$1.26 (G)	Includes 90 minute transfer. (E)
Weekday - Daily Fare Cap	$7.60	$3.80	$3.80	$3.80	Fare charged will not exceed this amount per day. (F)
Weekend / Public Holiday Single Trip	$2.00	$0.55	$1.26	$1.26	Includes 90 minute transfer
Weekend / Public Holiday Daily Fare Cap	$4.60	$1.70	$1.70	$1.70	Fare charged will not exceed this amount per day. (F)
Default Fare	$1.48	$0.74	$0.74	$0.74	Additional fare which applies if passenger fails to correctly tag on or off bus. (H)
Monthly Trip Cap	36	36	36	26	Once this many Paid Single Trips have been made during a calendar month, free travel applies for the remainder of the month. (F)

A - Concession does not include Students or Children
B - Tertiary Student fares apply to full-time students attending an accredited Australian tertiary education institution, not including a member of the Defence Force, who undertake at least 15 hours per week class time
C - School Student fares apply to Australian Primary, High School and Secondary College students
D - Applies to trips commenced before 9am and between 4.30pm and 6pm.
E - Applies to trips commenced between 9am and 4.30pm and after 6pm.
F - Fare caps apply only if all trips are tagged on and off. Default fare will apply when trips not tagged off.
G - This fare only applies on non-school days H - Default fare will apply from 1 January 2012.

A further 5% discount will apply if the MyWay card is topped-up using direct debit or BPAY.

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 430 buses, made up of the following models:^[9]

• Renault PR100.2 (Ansair "Metro" MkI, rigid)^[10] - 42
• Renault PR100.2 (Ansair "Metro" MkII, rigid)^[11] - 112 ( - 82)
• Renault PR180.2 (Ansair "Metro" MkI, articulated)^[12] - 26
• Renault PR180.2 (Ansair "Metro" MkII, articulated)^[13] - 7
• Renault PR100.3 (Austral Denning "Starliner", rigid)^[14] - 42
• Dennis Dart SLF Euro II Diesel (Wright "Crusader", low-floor medium rigid)^[15] - 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)^[16] - 20
• Scania L94UB CNG (Custom Coaches "CB60", low-floor rigid, air conditioned)^[17] - 54
• MAN A69 18.310 HOCL-NL CNG (Custom Coaches "CB60 Evo II", low-floor rigid, air conditioned)^[18] - 16
• MAN A69 18.310 HOCL-R-NL Euro IV Diesel (Custom Coaches "CB60 Evo II", low-floor rigid, air conditioned) - 2
• MAN A69 18.320 HOCL-R-NL Euro V Diesel (Custom Coaches "CB60 Evo II", low-floor rigid, air conditioned)^[19] - 68
  ACTION has ordered 87 of these buses to be delivered between August 2009 and May 2012.^[20]
• Scania K320UB 6x2*4 steer-tag Euro V Diesel (Custom Coaches "CB60 Evo II", low-floor rigid tri-axle, air conditioned)^[21] - 15
  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.^[22]

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

Belconnen Community Bus Station

A Bollard Style Stop

Concrete bunker shelter outside Old Parliament House, Parkes

ACTION operates six bus stations, which act as hubs for the districts of Canberra.

• City Bus Station (opened 1982 and remodelled 2000) serves Gungahlin and Canberra Central;
• Woden Bus Station (opened 1972, second stage opened 1982) serves Woden Valley, Weston Creek and Tuggeranong;
• Tuggeranong Bus Station (opened 1991) serves Tuggeranong;
• Located in Belconnen Town Centre are three bus stations - Cohen Street (opened 2009), Westfield Belconnen and Belconnen Community Station (opened 2010) - which serve Belconnen and Gungahlin.

City Bus Station is located on East Row, Mort Street and Alinga Street with some services departing from Northbourne Avenue during peak. Limited local access is permitted on Mort and Alinga Streets, while East Row is a bus-only street. Woden and Tuggeranong Bus Stations are off street stations which permit access only to buses, essential traffic and emergency vehicles.

Belconnen Town Centre is serviced by three bus stations all located along Cohen Street. Cohen Street Bus Station is located outside the Belconnen Bus Depot near the intersection with Josephson Street; Westfield Belconnen Bus Station is an off street station near the intersection of Cohen and Lathlain Streets and Belconnen Community Bus Station is located on Cohen Street near the intersection with Benjamin Way (at the site of the former Belconnen Interchange). All bus routes travelling to or through Belconnen Town Centre service all three stations. Additional stops are located on Emu Bank and Eastern Valley Way which are serviced by most routes which travel through Belconnen Town Centre.^[23]

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 stops, which include detailed timetable and route information, have been installed at major bus stops and along the Blue and Red Rapid routes.

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.^[24]

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 and administrative area.

• 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 administrative 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.

References

1. ^ "Canberra's Engineering Heritage - Urban Public Transport". Engineers Australia. http://www.engineer.org.au/chapter03.html. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
2. ^ "New Network 2010". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/network_2010.html. Retrieved 13 November 2010. 
3. ^ "MyWay Fares". Transport for Canberra. http://www.transport.act.gov.au/myway/fares.html. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 
4. ^ "Welcome to MyWay". Transport For Canberra. http://www.transport.act.gov.au/myway/index.html. Retrieved 16 February 2011. 
5. ^ "Wayfarer 200". Parkeon. http://www.parkeon.com/uk/Transport-Wayfarer-200.html. Retrieved 15 October 2010. 
6. ^ "Axio". Parkeon. http://www.parkeon.com/uk/Transport-Axio.html. Retrieved 15 October 2010. 
7. ^ "Press Release - Parkeon wins again down under". Parkeon. http://www.parkeon.com/uk/Press-Release/Parkeon-wins-again-down-under.html. Retrieved 9 April 2010. 
8. ^ "MyWay Fares". Transport For Canberra. http://www.transport.act.gov.au/myway/fares.html. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 
9. ^ "ACTION Fleet Summary". actbus.net. http://www.actbus.net/fleetwiki/index.php?title=ACTION_Fleet_Summary. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 
10. ^ "Renault PR100.2 Mk I". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/PR1OO.2MKI%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
11. ^ "Renault PR100.2 Mk II". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/PR1OO.2MKII%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
12. ^ "Renault PR180.2 Mk I Articulated". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/PR18O.2%20MKI%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
13. ^ "Renault PR180.2 Mk II Articulated". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/PR18O.2MKII%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
14. ^ "Renault PR100.3 Diesel". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/PR1OO.3%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
15. ^ "Dennis Dart SLF Midi Bus - Diesel". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/DART%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
16. ^ "Irisbus Agoraline CB60 Low Floor - Diesel". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/IRISBUS%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
17. ^ "Scania L94UB CB60 Low Floor - CNG". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/SCANIA%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
18. ^ "MAN A69 18.310 HOCLNL CNG Low Floor". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/MAN%20A69%20CNG_spec_sheet.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
19. ^ "MAN A69 18.320 HOUCL-R-NL Diesel Low Floor". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/MAN_Euro_5_Spec_Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 19 September 2009. 
20. ^ "Media Release - New ACTION bus an Australian first". ACT Chief Minister. http://www.chiefminister.act.gov.au/media.php?v=8532. Retrieved 19 September 2009. 
21. ^ "Scania K320UB 14.5m 6x2*4 CB60 Low Floor Diesel". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/doc/aboutus/SCANIA%2014.5m%20Steer%20Tag%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf. Retrieved 25 March 2010. 
22. ^ "Bike and Ride". ACTION. http://www.action.act.gov.au/bike_n_ride.html. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
23. ^ "Improvements to Belconnen Town Centre". ACT Planning and Land Authority. http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/topics/significant_projects/infrastructure_works/belconnen_town_centre. Retrieved 25 December 2008. 
24. ^ "Media Release - Minister launches new bus shelters". ACT Government. http://www.chiefminister.act.gov.au/media.php?v=5973. Retrieved 7 August 2010. 

External links

• ACTION
• MyWay
• Deane's Transit Group
• Canberra Airport Express
• Parkeon
• Custom Coaches
• Adshel