CDC Victoria

CDC Victoria
CDC Melbourne Volgren bodied Scania K230UB at Wyndham Vale station in June 2015
ParentComfortDelGro Australia
Foundedearly 1850s (as Kefford Corporation)
23 February 2009; 15 years ago (2009-02-23) (as CDC Victoria)
Headquarters28 Prosperity Street
Truganina, Victoria
Service areaGreater Melbourne
Ballarat
Greater Geelong
Sunraysia
Service typeBus & coach operator
DepotsAltona
Ballarat
Geelong
Oakleigh
Sunshine
Werribee
Mildura
Fleet610
Chief executiveJeff Wilson[1]
Websitecdcvictoria.com.au

CDC Victoria is a transport company which operates in Victoria and is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia. It was renamed from Kefford Corporation, which was acquired by ComfortDelGro Cabcharge (predecessor of ComfortDelGro Australia) in February 2009.[2]

The head office of CDC Victoria and its Operations and Customer Centre (OCC) are located in CDC Melbourne's Wyndham depot in the suburb of Truganina, opened in December 2017.[3][4]

Operations

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CDC Melbourne Volgren bodied Volvo B12BLE in December 2023
CDC Melbourne Autobus bodied Volvo B7R in December 2023

CDC Victoria's subsidiaries are:

CDC Victoria also formerly operated CDC Fleet taxi services in Melbourne but this ceased in early 2021.[9][10]

Fleet

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As at June 2022, the entire CDC Victoria fleet consisted of 610 buses and coaches.[11]

History

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Kefford Corporation

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The Kefford Corporation was started in the early 1850s when Richard Papworth Kefford began operating horse-drawn lorries in Collingwood. The business later began operating trucks but sold that side of its business in 1976.[12]

Westrans

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"Westrans" redirects here. For history of Westrans after 2009, see CDC Melbourne.

In January 1976, Kefford Corporation became a public transport operator, with the purchase of Point Cook – Werribee Passenger Service (trading as Blue Riband) based in Werribee.[13]

In July 1987, Bono Bus Lines in Maidstone was purchased with route 406 Footscray – Keilor East and operated from a new depot in Footscray.[14] As of 2021, the Bono family continues to operate Firefly Express in Maidstone.

In January 1988, Kefford Corporation purchased the Sitch Group and its subsidiaries:[15][16]

  • Altona Bus Lines, Altona
  • Footscray – Yarraville Bus Service, Yarraville
  • North Sunshine Bus Service, Sunshine
  • St Albans Bus Service, Sunshine
  • Sitch Bus Service, Sunshine

In May 1991, St Kilda Bus Service was purchased with route 606 Port Melbourne – St Kilda and rebranded Werribee Bus Lines.[17]

The Point Cook – Werribee (Blue Riband), Bono, Sitch and Weribee operations were later rebranded as Westrans in Westrans. However, the Sitch, Altona Bus Lines and Point Cook – Werribee names remained in use as legal entities of Kefford Corporation until the late 2000s to early 2010s.[18][19][20][21][22] These three entities later became the CDC Sunshine, CDC Altona and CDC Werribee subsidiary companies of CDC Victoria respectively.

Eastrans

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"Eastrans" redirects here. For history of Eastrans after 2009, see CDC Melbourne.

In January 1988, Kefford Corporation also purchased routes 605 Melbourne central business district − Elsternwick and 630 Elwood − Monash University from Sinclair's Bus Service.[16] Route 605 was previously acquired from Eastern Suburbs Omnibus Service in 1972.[23] The operation of routes 605 and 630 was rebranded as Eastrans in the 1990s. However, both Sinclair (as W Sinclair & Sons) and Eastern Suburbs Omnibus Service names remained in use as legal entities of Kefford Corporation and the entities were also the operators of both routes until 2011–2012.[24][25][26] W Sinclair & Sons later became the CDC Oakleigh subsidiary company of CDC Victoria.

On 16 October 2006, Eastrans commenced operation of SmartBus route 900, jointly operated with Grenda's Bus Service.[27][28]

Ballarat

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In December 1981, Davis Motor Service in Ballarat was purchased.[29] It was later known as Davis Bus Lines.

Geelong

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In March 1999, Benders Buslines in Geelong was purchased.[30][31]

Acquisition by CDC

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In November 2008, ComfortDelGro Cabcharge (CDC) announced the acquisition of Kefford Corporation for A$149 million.[2] At the time Kefford was the fourth-largest bus operator in Victoria, with a fleet of 328 buses and six depots, and with a 16% market share. The acquisition was finalised on 23 February 2009.[32] All Kefford Corporation brands were retained by CDC until 2014.

In February 2009, when ComfortDelGro Cabcharge entered the Victorian bus market with the acquisition of Kefford Corporation for A$149 million, with its fleet of 328 buses and six depots.[33][32] Kefford was the fourth largest bus operator in Victoria, with a 16% market share. The fleets retained their individual identities and liveries, with small CDC Victoria markings. Initially, the fleet continued to operate as Eastrans and Westrans in Melbourne, Benders Busways in Geelong and Davis Bus Lines in Ballarat.

In July 2013, the route operations of the Driver Group were acquired for A$22 million comprising five routes (612 and 623 – 626) and 42 buses, and integrated into the Eastrans brand.[34][35][36]

On 14 July 2014, CDC Victoria launched a new website for its four Victorian brands. Benders Busways was renamed as CDC Geelong and Davis Bus Lines to CDC Ballarat.[37] In October 2014, Westrans and Eastrans were united and rebranded as CDC Melbourne. At the time, CDC Victoria had six depots and operated 446 buses.[38]

In May 2018, CDC Victoria acquired Tullamarine Bus Lines, with its six routes (477–479, 484, 490 and 543) and 36 buses, and integrated it into CDC Melbourne in August 2018.[39][40][41] Also included in the purchase is Tullamarine's small taxi management business called Cabways, which was renamed CDC Fleet in November 2018, and operates 13cabs and Silver Top branded taxis.[42][43][44] The taxi business ceased in early 2021.[9][10]

On 1 July 2022, CDC Victoria's Regional Bus Services Contracts to operate bus services in Geelong, Ballarat and Mildura were renewed for 10 years.[45] It would be subject to new performance measures and service standards for the Geelong and Ballarat operations, consistent with the bus services in Melbourne.[46]

References

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  1. ^ a b "CDC Victoria – Unite! Newsletter – January 2022" (PDF). CDC Victoria. January 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b Smith, Chris (20 December 2008). "Kefford Group Finds a Buyer". Australasian Bus and Coach. Bauer Trader Media. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Head Office and Depots". CDC Victoria. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  4. ^ "CDC Victoria – Unite! Newsletter – March 2018" (PDF). CDC Victoria. March 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Annual Report 2018". ComfortDelGro. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  6. ^ United Revamped Archived 7 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine CDC Victoria June 2019
  7. ^ a b "Buslink Sunraysia & Broken Hill Officially Renamed CDC Mildura & CDC Broken Hill". CDC Victoria. 1 March 2020. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  8. ^ "$2 million bus upgrade". Barrier Daily Truth. 5 June 2019. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Sorry, we're closed". CDC Fleet. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  10. ^ a b "CDC Victoria – Unite! Newsletter – March 2021" (PDF). CDC Victoria. March 2021. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  11. ^ "CDC Group". Australian Bus Fleet Lists. Bus Australia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  12. ^ Kefford Corporation Archived 10 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine Tiltaway
  13. ^ "Unite Newsletter" (PDF). CDC Victoria. September 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Victorian Buses in the Eighties". Australian Bus Panorama (6/8): 14. May 1991.
  15. ^ Melbourne Metropolitan Bus Operators and Fleet Listings. Melbourne: Bus & Coach Society of Victoria. 1991. pp. 31–34.
  16. ^ a b "Victorian Buses in the Eighties". Australian Bus Panorama (7/1): 3. August 1991.
  17. ^ "Kefford Group Fleets". Australian Bus Panorama (7/1): 35. August 1991.
  18. ^ "Historical details for ABN 16 004 368 156". ABN Lookup. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Metropolitan Bus Services Contract – Altona Bus Line P/L". June 2008. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Historical details for ABN 30 004 637 512". ABN Lookup. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Metropolitan Bus Services Contract – Point Cook-Werribee Passenger Service Pty Ltd". June 2008. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Historical details for ABN 70 004 400 766". ABN Lookup. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Melbourne Private Bus Routes 1971 to 1990: 600 – 699". Bus and Coach Society of Victoria. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Metropolitan Bus Services Contract – W Sinclair & Sons P/L". Buying for Victoria. June 2008. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Historical details for ABN 67 004 482 142". ABN Lookup. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Historical details for ABN 51 004 231 396". ABN Lookup. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  27. ^ "New SmartBus route for Melbourne's outer-east". Metlink. 11 October 2006. Archived from the original on 25 October 2006.
  28. ^ "900 – Stud Park – Caulfield via Monash University, Chadstone (SMARTBUS Service)". Metlink. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008.
  29. ^ "Victorian Buses in the Eighties" Australian Bus Panorama 6/1 July 1990 page 13
  30. ^ Major bus buys for Kefford & Hill Archived 14 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Australasian Bus & Coach
  31. ^ "Kefford Expands" Australian Bus Panorama 15/4 February 2000 page 22
  32. ^ a b "ComfortDelGro Cabcharge Victoria". Archived from the original on 6 October 2010.
  33. ^ Kefford Group finds a buyer Archived 5 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Australian Bus & Coach 20 November 2008
  34. ^ "ComfortDelGro Expands Melbourne Operations Through A$22.0 Million Acquisition" (PDF). ComfortDelGro. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2013.
  35. ^ Skelton, Andrew (20 May 2013). "Acquisition of further Bus Route Service Business in Melbourne" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  36. ^ "Updates and News". CDC Victoria. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014.
  37. ^ CDC A brand new look for CDC Victoria Archived 3 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ CDC Group Archived 26 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Australian Bus Fleet Lists
  39. ^ "CDC Victoria further strengthens bus footprint in Victoria" (PDF). CDC Victoria. 13 April 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  40. ^ "ComfortDelGro invests S$136.5m in Australian bus assets". Channel NewsAsia. 7 August 2018. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  41. ^ "CDC Victoria – Unite! Newsletter – September 2018" (PDF). CDC Victoria. September 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  42. ^ "Current details for ABN 65 004 836 551". ABN Lookup. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  43. ^ "CDC Vic pays deposit for north-west Melbourne bus operator". Australasian Bus & Coach. 13 April 2018. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  44. ^ "About CDC Fleet". CDC Fleet. Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  45. ^ "CDC Victoria Will Continue to Deliver Reliable Bus Services in Regional Victoria". CDC Victoria. 12 July 2022. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  46. ^ "Modern Regional Bus Agreements To Benefit Passengers". Department of Transport. 30 June 2022. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
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