In early 2023, the Forest Coach Lines brand was replaced by ComfortDelGro's CDC NSW branding for the Sydney operations. The Mid North Coast and North West Slopes operations continue to be branded Forest Coach Lines.
In March 1947, route 52 Chatswood to Artarmon was purchased but quickly sold in November of that year to Brooks Bros.[3][4] From the late 1940s, the Frenchs Forest area expanded rapidly and by 1960 the Royle Brothers fleet had expanded to 12 buses.[1]
The operation was renamed Forest Coach Lines in February 1964 and relocated to a new depot in Belrose. In May 1965, route 201 ceased. An expansion into coach charter saw Forest Trailways established with a separate depot in Manly Vale. Eric and Trevor Royle retired in the mid-1960s with the Trevor's sons Bernard and Tony taking over.[1]
In 1973, services were extended to Warringah Mall and in February 1982 to Duffys Forest. In August 1979, a new depot was opened in Terrey Hills to replace those at Belrose and Manly Vale.[1]
The Passenger Transport Act 1990 allowed Forest Coach Lines to commence operating services into the Sydney central business district in July 1992.[1][5] In August 1991, the Warringah Bus Lines operation was purchased from Shorelink[6] and in July 1998 part of St Ives Bus Service was purchased.[7][8]
In November 2012, it was announced that Forest had been successful in retaining the contract to operate Sydney Bus Region 14.[9][10]
In December 2014, a majority shareholding in the business was purchased by mid-market private equity firm Next Capital.[11][12]
In September 2018, ComfortDelGro Australia (CDC) purchased the business.[19][20][21][22] In November 2022, CDC was awarded the contract to retain Region 14. The Forest Coach Lines brand in Sydney was replaced by the CDC NSW brand when the contract commenced on 21 May 2023.[23][24] The Forest Coach Lines brand remained in the regional New South Wales operations.
As at July 2022, the combined fleet consisted of 250 buses and coaches.[25][26]
As of September 2023, the fleets consists of 80 buses.
Forest Coach Lines built up its fleet with Leyland buses. In 1972 it placed the first Volvo in Sydney in service. Since then most purchases have been on Volvo or Mercedes-Benz chassis. In March 2013 two Bustech CDi double deckers were introduced.
When the business was renamed Forest Coach Lines in February 1964, a new white and green livery was introduced. These remained the fleet colours until 2013 when as part of its new regional bus contract Forest was required to adopt the Transport for NSW white and blue livery.[27]
Routes formerly operated in SydneyEdit
As at time of rebranding to CDC NSW (May 2023):
141: Austlink to Manly via Belrose, Northern Beaches Hospital, Seaforth, Balgowlah & Fairlight
193: Austlink to Warringah Mall via Northern Beaches Hospital, Beacon Hill & Narraweena
194: St Ives Village Shops/St Ives Chase to City QVB via East Killara, East Lindfield, East Roseville, Middle Cove, Northbridge and Cammeray
194X: St Ives Village Shops/St Ives Chase to City QVB via East Killara, East Lindfield, East Roseville & Alpha Road (Express Service)
195: Gordon to St. Ives Chase Loop
196: Gordon to Mona Vale via St Ives Village Shops and Austlink
197: Macquarie University to Mona Vale via Macquarie Centre, Macquarie Park, West Pymble, Gordon Station, St Ives Village Shops and Austlink
260: Terrey Hills to North Sydney via Frenchs Forest, Forestville, Northbridge and Cammeray
270: Terrey Hills to City QVB via Frenchs Forest, Forestville & Alpha Road
270X: Terrey Hills to City QVB via Frenchs Forest, Forestville & Alpha Road (Limited Stops)
271: Terrey Hills/Austlink/Belrose to City QVB via Frenchs Forest, Forestville & Alpha Road
273: Killarney Heights to City QVB via Frenchs Forest, Forestville & Alpha Road
274: Davidson to City QVB via Frenchs Forest, Forestville & Alpha Road
277: Chatswood to Castle Cove
278: Chatswood/Forestville to Killarney Heights
280: Chatswood to Warringah Mall via East Roseville, Forestville, Frenchs Forest, Skyline & Allambie
281: Chatswood to Davidson via Forestville & Frenchs Forest
282: Chatswood to Belrose via Forestville, Frenchs Forest & Davidson
283: Chatswood to Belrose via Forestville & Frenchs Forest
284: Chatswood to Duffys Forest via Forestville, Frenchs Forest & Belrose, Austlink & Terrey Hills
Routes operated in Coffs HarbourEdit
362: Boambee to Coffs Harbour via SCU Coffs Harbour Campus & CH Base Hospital[28]
^Forest Coach Lines expands in North West Slopes region 10 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Forest Coach Lines 20 September 2017
^"ComfortDelGro Deepens Footprint in Australia with Two Acquisitions Totaling A$134.45 Million". ComfortDelgro. 7 August 2018. from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
^Forest Change of Ownership[permanent dead link] Forest Coach Lines 13 August 2018
^End of an era for Forest Coach Lines Manly Daily 28 September 2018
^"ComfortDelGro Australia Group Wins Bid to Expand Bus Services in Sydney". CDC NSW. 7 November 2022. from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
^"ComfortDelGro wins city bus contracts worth A$1.7b in Sydney". The Business Times Singapore. 7 November 2022. from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
^Forest Coach Lines 26 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine Australian Bus Fleet Lists
^Wolters Bus & Coach 4 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Australian Bus Fleet Lists
^Blue over green Forest Coach Lines buses 29 April 2013 at the Wayback MachineManly Daily 11 January 2013
^Forest Coach Lines route 362 6 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW
^Forest Coach Lines route 363 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW
^Forest Coach Lines route 364 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW
^Forest Coach Lines route 370 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW
^Forest Coach Lines route 371 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW
^Forest Coach Lines route 372 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW
External linksEdit
Media related to Forest Coach Lines at Wikimedia Commons
Bus Australia gallery
October 20, 2023
forest, coach, lines, australian, coach, operator, founded, 1930, northern, suburbs, sydney, since, 2016, expanded, with, purchases, north, coast, north, west, slopes, regions, south, wales, subsidiary, comfortdelgro, australia, custom, bodied, volvo, b7rle, s. Forest Coach Lines is an Australian bus and coach operator Founded in 1930 in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney since 2016 it has expanded with purchases in the Mid North Coast and North West Slopes regions in New South Wales It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia Forest Coach LinesCustom Bus bodied Volvo B7RLE in SydneyParentComfortDelGro AustraliaCommenced operation1 March 1930 93 years ago 1930 03 01 HeadquartersTerrey HillsService areaMid North CoastNorth West SlopesFormer HornsbyMacquarie ParkChatswoodWilloughbyNorthern BeachesService typeBus servicesDepots4 September 2023 Fleet80 September 2023 Chief executiveNicolas Yap as CEO of CDC Australia Websitewww wbr forestcoachlines wbr com wbr auIn early 2023 the Forest Coach Lines brand was replaced by ComfortDelGro s CDC NSW branding for the Sydney operations The Mid North Coast and North West Slopes operations continue to be branded Forest Coach Lines Contents 1 History 2 Fleet 3 Routes formerly operated in Sydney 4 Routes operated in Coffs Harbour 5 References 6 External linksHistory Edit nbsp Forest Coach Lines Volvo B7RLE in a green Transport for NSW livery nbsp Forest Coach Lines Volvo B12BLEA in its corporate liveryIn March 1930 Eric and Trevor Royle trading as Royle Brothers purchased routes 56 Chatswood station to Roseville Chase and 201 Roseville station to Roseville Chase from E Jones with three buses In October 1941 the first service operated across the Roseville Bridge to Terrey Hills 1 2 In March 1947 route 52 Chatswood to Artarmon was purchased but quickly sold in November of that year to Brooks Bros 3 4 From the late 1940s the Frenchs Forest area expanded rapidly and by 1960 the Royle Brothers fleet had expanded to 12 buses 1 The operation was renamed Forest Coach Lines in February 1964 and relocated to a new depot in Belrose In May 1965 route 201 ceased An expansion into coach charter saw Forest Trailways established with a separate depot in Manly Vale Eric and Trevor Royle retired in the mid 1960s with the Trevor s sons Bernard and Tony taking over 1 In 1973 services were extended to Warringah Mall and in February 1982 to Duffys Forest In August 1979 a new depot was opened in Terrey Hills to replace those at Belrose and Manly Vale 1 The Passenger Transport Act 1990 allowed Forest Coach Lines to commence operating services into the Sydney central business district in July 1992 1 5 In August 1991 the Warringah Bus Lines operation was purchased from Shorelink 6 and in July 1998 part of St Ives Bus Service was purchased 7 8 In November 2012 it was announced that Forest had been successful in retaining the contract to operate Sydney Bus Region 14 9 10 In December 2014 a majority shareholding in the business was purchased by mid market private equity firm Next Capital 11 12 In September 2016 the business of Manly Coaches was acquired with no vehicles 13 In November 2016 the Mid North Coast business of Ryan s Bus Service was purchased with depots in Coffs Harbour and Woolgoolga 14 In April 2017 Sawtell Coaches was purchased with a depot in Toormina 15 16 In September 2017 Wolters Bus amp Coach Service was acquired on the North West Slopes with depots in Narrabri and Wee Waa 17 18 In September 2018 ComfortDelGro Australia CDC purchased the business 19 20 21 22 In November 2022 CDC was awarded the contract to retain Region 14 The Forest Coach Lines brand in Sydney was replaced by the CDC NSW brand when the contract commenced on 21 May 2023 23 24 The Forest Coach Lines brand remained in the regional New South Wales operations Fleet Edit nbsp BusTech bodied Volvo B7RLE in current Transport for NSW liveryAs at July 2022 the combined fleet consisted of 250 buses and coaches 25 26 As of September 2023 the fleets consists of 80 buses Forest Coach Lines built up its fleet with Leyland buses In 1972 it placed the first Volvo in Sydney in service Since then most purchases have been on Volvo or Mercedes Benz chassis In March 2013 two Bustech CDi double deckers were introduced When the business was renamed Forest Coach Lines in February 1964 a new white and green livery was introduced These remained the fleet colours until 2013 when as part of its new regional bus contract Forest was required to adopt the Transport for NSW white and blue livery 27 Routes formerly operated in Sydney EditAs at time of rebranding to CDC NSW May 2023 141 Austlink to Manly via Belrose Northern Beaches Hospital Seaforth Balgowlah amp Fairlight 193 Austlink to Warringah Mall via Northern Beaches Hospital Beacon Hill amp Narraweena 194 St Ives Village Shops St Ives Chase to City QVB via East Killara East Lindfield East Roseville Middle Cove Northbridge and Cammeray 194X St Ives Village Shops St Ives Chase to City QVB via East Killara East Lindfield East Roseville amp Alpha Road Express Service 195 Gordon to St Ives Chase Loop 196 Gordon to Mona Vale via St Ives Village Shops and Austlink 197 Macquarie University to Mona Vale via Macquarie Centre Macquarie Park West Pymble Gordon Station St Ives Village Shops and Austlink 260 Terrey Hills to North Sydney via Frenchs Forest Forestville Northbridge and Cammeray 270 Terrey Hills to City QVB via Frenchs Forest Forestville amp Alpha Road 270X Terrey Hills to City QVB via Frenchs Forest Forestville amp Alpha Road Limited Stops 271 Terrey Hills Austlink Belrose to City QVB via Frenchs Forest Forestville amp Alpha Road 273 Killarney Heights to City QVB via Frenchs Forest Forestville amp Alpha Road 274 Davidson to City QVB via Frenchs Forest Forestville amp Alpha Road 277 Chatswood to Castle Cove 278 Chatswood Forestville to Killarney Heights 280 Chatswood to Warringah Mall via East Roseville Forestville Frenchs Forest Skyline amp Allambie 281 Chatswood to Davidson via Forestville amp Frenchs Forest 282 Chatswood to Belrose via Forestville Frenchs Forest amp Davidson 283 Chatswood to Belrose via Forestville amp Frenchs Forest 284 Chatswood to Duffys Forest via Forestville Frenchs Forest amp Belrose Austlink amp Terrey HillsRoutes operated in Coffs Harbour Edit362 Boambee to Coffs Harbour via SCU Coffs Harbour Campus amp CH Base Hospital 28 363 Boambee to Coffs Harbour via Pacific Hwy 29 364 Sawtell to Coffs Harbour via Hogbin Dr Loop Service 30 370 Sawtell to Coffs Harbour via Toormina amp SCU Coffs Harbour Campus 31 371 Toormina to Boambee Loop Service 32 372 Coffs Harbour to Grafton via Woolgoolga 33 References Edit a b c d e History Archived 2 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Forest Coach Lines New South Wales Bus Operators and Fleet Listings Sydney Historic Commercial Vehicle Association 1993 p 53 Manny Leon B 1985 Terminus Please Sydney Historic Commercial Vehicle Association p 60 ISBN 0 959601 63 5 Route Histories Routes 51 75 Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Bus routes Services Fleetline September 1992 page 173 Ownership changes Fleetline February 1992 page 35 Ownership changes Fleetline July 1998 page 131 St Ives Bus Services Archived 24 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Australian Bus Fleet Lists Accessed 24 March 2014 Cut costs or bus contracts will go to private sector minister tells drivers Archived 5 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Morning Herald 7 November 2012 Mixed Result for Private Bus Operators Archived 24 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine Bus amp Coach Association NSW 7 November 2012 Next Capital finalises Forest Archived 15 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Australian Financial Review 8 December 2014 Royle Family Sell Forest Coach Lines Archived 20 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Transitgraphics Home Archived 3 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Manly Coaches Family owned Coffs Coast bus company calls it a day Archived 3 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine Coffs Coast Advocate 3 November 2016 Sawtell Sahdra BusLines www sawtellcoaches com au Archived from the original on 31 March 2017 Retrieved 31 March 2017 Forest Coach Lines expands in Coffs Harbour region Archived 23 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine Forest Coach Lines 13 April 2017 Home Wolters Bus amp Coach Service Forest Coach Lines expands in North West Slopes region Archived 10 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Forest Coach Lines 20 September 2017 ComfortDelGro Deepens Footprint in Australia with Two Acquisitions Totaling A 134 45 Million ComfortDelgro 7 August 2018 Archived from the original on 8 August 2018 Retrieved 8 August 2018 CDC buys Sydney s oldest privately run family bus company Forest Coachlines Australasian Bus amp Coach 8 August 2018 Forest Change of Ownership permanent dead link Forest Coach Lines 13 August 2018 End of an era for Forest Coach Lines Manly Daily 28 September 2018 ComfortDelGro Australia Group Wins Bid to Expand Bus Services in Sydney CDC NSW 7 November 2022 Archived from the original on 7 November 2022 Retrieved 7 November 2022 ComfortDelGro wins city bus contracts worth A 1 7b in Sydney The Business Times Singapore 7 November 2022 Archived from the original on 7 November 2022 Retrieved 7 November 2022 Forest Coach Lines Archived 26 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine Australian Bus Fleet Lists Wolters Bus amp Coach Archived 4 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Australian Bus Fleet Lists Blue over green Forest Coach Lines buses Archived 29 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine Manly Daily 11 January 2013 Forest Coach Lines route 362 Archived 6 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW Forest Coach Lines route 363 Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW Forest Coach Lines route 364 Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW Forest Coach Lines route 370 Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW Forest Coach Lines route 371 Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW Forest Coach Lines route 372 Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSWExternal links Edit nbsp Media related to Forest Coach Lines at Wikimedia Commons Bus Australia gallery Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Forest Coach Lines amp oldid 1175498267, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
