South Western Coach Lines facts for kids

South Western Coach Lines was a bus company in Australia. It ran bus services in different parts of Sydney, including the Eastern Suburbs, Inner West, South West, and Sutherland Shire areas.

The Start of the Bus Company

Max Holman was a person who owned and ran bus companies. In the late 1950s, he operated a company called Seven Hills Bus Lines. He later sold parts of this company.

In the 1960s, Max Holman also ran coaches (buses for longer trips) on the Gold Coast. After that, in the mid-1970s, he owned two more bus companies in Sydney: Marrickville Bus Lines and Matraville Bus Service.

How South Western Coach Lines Grew

In May 1976, Max Holman bought a bus route (route 114) from another company. He started his own business called Hurstville Bus Lines. A year later, in April 1977, he bought another bus service and named it Kareela Bus Lines.

On March 25, 1978, Max Holman bought seven more bus routes. These routes started from the Bankstown and Lidcombe train stations. He first called this new part of his business Bankstown Bus Lines.

In October 1979, Max Holman decided to combine all his bus businesses. He gave them a new name: South Western Coach Lines. He kept growing! In May 1980, he bought the bus routes of Power Bus Service in the Sutherland Shire. Then, in October 1982, he bought Lowe's Bus Service in Alexandria. He even bought another route (route 10) in early 1984.

Changes and Sales

Over time, parts of South Western Coach Lines were sold off.

• On February 27, 1984, a section of route 12 was transferred to Milperra Bus Service.
• On March 6, 1985, the bus routes that ran from Bankstown and Lidcombe were sold to another company called Highway Tours.
• In 1985, the routes in the Sutherland Shire area were given to Max Holman's son, Michael.
• In February 1986, the routes based in Alexandria were sold to ABC Coach Lines.

South Western Coach Lines stopped running buses in October 1990. The remaining three bus routes were then managed by Southtrans for a while.

In January 1992, two of these routes (9 and 238) were officially given to Southtrans. The last route, route 114, was split into three parts and sold to different companies: Southtrans, Caringbah Bus Service, and Carss Park Charter Tours.

Past Bus Routes

South Western Coach Lines operated many routes over the years. Here are some of them:

Eastern Suburbs and Inner West Routes

These routes were sold to ABC Coach Lines in February 1986:

• 10 Erskineville - Camperdown (going through Newtown)
• 18 Newtown - Bondi Junction station (going through Alexandria)
• 19 Newtown - Waterloo

South Western Sydney Routes

These routes were sold to Highway Tours in March 1985:

• 125 Lidcombe - Bankstown (via Lidcombe Hospital)
• 922 Bankstown - East Hills (via Milperra)
• 923 Bankstown - Picnic Point (via Revesby and Panania)
• 924 Bankstown - Picnic Point (via Revesby, Panania and East Hills)
• 925 Revesby Heights - Milperra Bridge
• 926 Bankstown - Revesby Heights
• 927 Bankstown - One Tree Point
• 928 East Hills - Roselands Shopping Centre

Sutherland Shire and Hurstville Routes

These routes were still operated by South Western Coach Lines until it closed in 1990:

• 9 Sutherland - Gray's Point
• 114 Hurstville - Caringbah (via Sylvania and Miranda, including trips to Bald Face)
• 238 Jannali - Como

When route 114 was sold in 1992, it was divided:

• The part from Hurstville to Sylvania and Miranda went to Southtrans.
• The part from Miranda to Caringbah went to Caringbah Bus Service.
• The part from Hurstville to Bald Face went to Carss Park Charter Tours.

What Happened Next

The bus routes that were sold to Highway Tours, Southtrans, Caringbah Bus Service, and Carss Park Charter Tours eventually came under the same ownership. Today, they are all operated by Transdev NSW.

VIP Express Coaches

In the 1980s, Max Holman also ran a long-distance coach business called VIP Express. It had about 40 coaches. This business was sold in February 1987.

The Bus Fleet

South Western Coach Lines mainly used buses made by companies like AEC, Bedford, and Leyland. Many of these buses were bought from government-owned transport companies. The buses were painted cream and brown.

Bus Depots

South Western Coach Lines had depots (places where buses are parked and maintained) in Alexandria, Jannali, and Revesby.