Hopkinsons facts for kids
Quick facts for kids  |
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Australian Autobus bodied Volvo B12B in Wagga Wagga in February 2010
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| Parent | Gerald King (50%) John King (50%) |
| Headquarters | Helensburgh |
| Service type | Coach charter services |
| Alliance | Premier Transport Group |
| Depot(s) | 1 |
| Fleet | 25 (June 2015) |
| Web site | www.hopkinsons.com.au |
Hopkinsons is a bus company from Australia. It is located in Western Sydney. For many years, Hopkinsons ran regular bus routes. But in 2013, another company took over these routes. Now, Hopkinsons mainly offers special bus trips and charters.
Contents
How Hopkinsons Started
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The company started way back in 1923. It was first called Merrylands Bus Company. The Try family owned it. They began with four buses, serving areas like Fairfield, Guildford, and Merrylands. By 1957, they had 16 buses.
In 1978, Graham Hopkinson bought the company. He changed its name to Hopkinsons. The main office moved to Smithfield.
Growing the Business
In 2003, Hopkinsons bought another company called Challenge Coachlines. This helped them grow their special trip (charter) services. Graham Hopkinson passed away in 2011. His four daughters then took over running the business.
From 2005, Hopkinsons' regular bus routes were part of Sydney Bus Region 3. In October 2013, Transit Systems started operating Region 3. This included the routes Hopkinsons used to run. Hopkinsons still offers charter services today.
On March 1, 2015, Gerald King and John King bought the company. Gerald King owns Kiama Coaches. John King owns Premier Transport Group. In June 2020, the Smithfield depot closed. The remaining buses moved to a sister company in Helensburgh.
The Hopkinsons Bus Fleet
As of June 2015, Hopkinsons had 25 vehicles. This included five regular buses and 20 coaches for special trips.
Types of Buses Used
When Hopkinsons bought the company in 1978, the fleet had Bedford buses. In the 1980s, these were replaced. They got buses like ex-ACTION AEC Swift and Volvo B58 models.
In the 1990s, they had some Volvo B59 buses. These were rebuilt by P&D Coachworks. Later, they bought Volvo B10B buses with similar designs. More recently, they have bought Custom Coaches bodied Volvo B12BLE buses.
Hopkinsons has always operated coaches for charter trips. They first used Dennings and later Austral Tourmasters. Now, they mainly use Scania and Volvo coaches.
Bus Colours and Design
In the 1980s, the buses changed their look. The old two-tone green colour was replaced. The new design was white, green, and blue. Coaches also used to have this design. But later, they adopted a silver colour for coaches. This happened around the time they bought Challenge Coachlines.
