Punchbowl Bus Company facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Punchbowl Bus Company

A Custom Coaches bus with a Volvo B7RLE engine at Central Station in July 2013.
Parent	Steve Scott
Headquarters	Riverwood
Service type	Bus services
Hubs	Bankstown Hurstville
Depot(s)	2
Fleet	74 (July 2022)
Web site	www.punchbowlbus.com.au

The Punchbowl Bus Company (also known as PBC) is an Australian company that runs bus services. Today, they mainly operate buses in places like Goulburn and Crookwell in an area called the Southern Tablelands. They call these services PBC Goulburn and PBC Crookwell.

Before July 2023, PBC also ran bus services in Sydney Bus Region 5. These services covered areas such as Hurstville, Roselands, Bankstown, Strathfield, and nearby suburbs.

The Story of Punchbowl Bus Company

Early Days: Before 1960

The Punchbowl Bus Company (PBC) began its journey as DeLuxe Bus Service. It was started by PM (Pat) Geoghegan in 1943.

• In July 1943, Route 188, which went from Punchbowl to Mortdale, was taken over from another company.
• On April 29, 1946, they started a new service, Route 29, connecting Peakhurst and Hurstville.
• In May 1946, Routes 28 and 33, both running between Punchbowl and Hurstville, were transferred to them from other operators.
• By late 1947, DeLuxe Bus Service officially became the Punchbowl Bus Company.
• In 1956, Pat Geoghegan passed away, and Miss P Fitzpatrick took over the company.
• In October 1958, all routes were transferred to the owners of Narwee Bus Co and GP Bus Co.

The GP Bus Co and Narwee Bus Co were owned by WH Griffin, CV Griffin, and FS (Fred) Pobje. The "GP" came from Griffin and Pobje. These companies were closely linked. In October 1958, they took over PBC. They decided to use the Punchbowl Bus Co name and its look for all their services.

Growing the Network: Since 1960

By 1961, some routes were combined to make services more efficient. For example, weekday routes 4 and 190 became one route, operating between Bankstown and Punchbowl.

In 1967, Routes 4 and 28 were combined to form Route 244. This new route connected Bankstown and Hurstville, passing through areas like Chullora, Greenacre, Punchbowl, and Roselands. This was great for people in Greenacre and Chullora, giving them direct access to the new Roselands Shopping Centre.

Over the years, Punchbowl Bus Company continued to expand. They took over other routes and adjusted their services to better serve the community. For example, in January 1992, they extended Route 188 to Bankstown.

In August 1997, all the routes were renumbered as part of a new system for all of Sydney. This made it easier to understand the bus network. Some of the new route numbers included:

• 940 (replacing 29 and 33)
• 941 (replacing 244)
• 942 (replacing 189)
• 943 (replacing 29 and 108)
• 944 (replacing 29 and 36)
• 945 (replacing 188)

In April 1998, Punchbowl Bus Co bought Canterbury Bus Lines. This added routes 450 (Hurstville to Strathfield) and 451 (Roselands to Campsie) to their network. They kept growing, taking over more routes from other companies in the early 2000s.

In March 2010, Punchbowl Bus Company changed its route numbers again. This was to make services more frequent and direct. Some routes were stopped, and new ones like 939, 946, and 955 were created.

Changes in November 2017 meant some routes became shorter. For example, Route 944 now only ran between Bankstown and Mortdale. On March 1, 2018, the Nightride service N20 was extended to go all the way to Town Hall, passing through Sydney Airport.

Punchbowl Bus Company used to run many services in Sydney Bus Region 5. However, from July 1, 2023, these services were taken over by U-Go Mobility. Punchbowl Bus Company still offers special charter services, like buses for school trips or events.

How Punchbowl Bus Company Operates

The company has three main parts or "brands":

• Punchbowl Bus Company - for services that used to be in Sydney.
• PBC Goulburn - for services in Goulburn.
• PBC Crookwell - for services in Crookwell.

Since 2005, Punchbowl's services in Sydney were part of Sydney Bus Region 5. In August 2013, they won a contract to keep operating Region 5 for another five years.

In November 2008, Punchbowl bought Goulburn Bus Service and called it PBC Goulburn. Then, in October 2009, they bought Noack's Bus Service, which was nearby. On November 20, 2017, they took over the runs of Crookwell Bus Service, naming it PBC Crookwell.

In December 2022, Punchbowl Bus Company did not win the contract to keep all its Sydney bus operations. So, from July 1, 2023, all their regular Sydney services were transferred to U-Go Mobility. But don't worry, they still run special charter services!

Bus Garages (Depots)

Punchbowl Bus Company has two main garages, called depots, where they keep and maintain their buses.

• The main depot is at 56 Hannans Road, Riverwood. This was originally the garage for the Narwee Bus Company.
• A second depot is at 187-189 Bonds Road, Riverwood.

The Hannans Road depot can hold about 50 to 52 buses, and the Bonds Road depot can hold about 23 to 25 buses.

The Bus Fleet

As of July 2022, Punchbowl Bus Company has a fleet of 74 buses.

For many years, until the late 1980s, Punchbowl Bus Company mainly bought buses from Leyland. After Leyland stopped making buses, Punchbowl started buying buses from other companies like Hino, MAN, Scania, and Volvo.

The buses used to be painted in a red and cream color scheme. In 2010, the Transport for NSW (the state transport authority) started using a new white and blue color scheme for buses in Sydney. Most of the Sydney buses now have this new look. However, the buses used for PBC Goulburn and PBC Crookwell still have the classic red and cream Punchbowl Bus Co. colors.

• 

  A Hino bus with a PMCA body in the classic PBC colors.

• 

  A Scania bus with an Austral Pacific body, also in PBC colors.

• 

  A Scania bus with a Custom Coaches body, now in the new TfNSW white and blue colors.

• 

  Another Scania bus with a Custom Coaches body, showing the TfNSW colors.

Paying for Your Ride (Ticketing)

Since July 16, 2014, all buses used for Sydney services have been able to accept the Opal card ticketing system. This is a special card you can tap to pay for your bus fare.