Melbourne bus route 901
Melbourne bus route 901 is a bus route operated by Kinetic Melbourne between Frankston station and Melbourne Airport in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the SmartBus network.
| Route 901 | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Operator | Kinetic Melbourne |
| Vehicle | Gemilang & Volgren bodied Scanias |
| Began service | 2008 |
| Former operator(s) | Transdev Melbourne Ventura Bus Lines Grenda's Bus Services |
| Route | |
| Start | Frankston station |
| Via | Dandenong station Westfield Knox Ringwood station Blackburn station Greensborough station South Morang station Broadmeadows station Gladstone Park |
| End | Melbourne Airport |
| Length | 115 kilometres |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
| Frequency | 15-30 minutes |
| Journey time | 4 hours |
| Zone(s) | Myki Zone 2 |
| Timetable | PTV |
History edit
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, orbital bus routes began being introduced in Melbourne as an alternative form of public transport to trains which allowed people to get to major areas without needing to go via the city. Route 901 was introduced in 2008 as the yellow orbital and operated from Frankston station to Ringwood station, absorbing the former route 665.[1] It later became part of the SmartBus network.[2]
In September 2010, route 901 was extended to Melbourne Airport, partly replacing Dysons route 571, making it Melbourne's second longest bus route by distance and longest by total journey time.[3][4][5]
Initially operated by Grenda's Bus Services,[1] it became part of Ventura Bus Lines in 2012,[6][7] was taken over by Transdev Melbourne in 2013,[8] and by Kinetic Melbourne in January 2022.[9][10]
Route edit
Route 901 operates from Frankston station to Melbourne Airport via the outer eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne. It travels via Dandenong station, Westfield Knox, Ringwood station, Blackburn station, The Pines Shopping Centre, Greensborough Station, South Morang station, Epping station, Broadmeadows station and Gladstone Park.[11]
Vehicles edit
Route 901 was initially operated by a dedicated fleet of Volgren bodied Mercedes-Benz OC500LEs painted in SmartBus silver and orange livery. These have been supersed by Gemilang and Volgren bodied Scanias in standard Public Transport Victoria livery.[citation needed]
References edit
- ^ a b Metlink
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald 13 July 2008
- ^ Australasian Bus & Coach 2 September 2010
- ^ Department of Transport
- ^ Introduction of Doncaster Dart and extended 901 Smart Bus services Australian Bus Panorama issue 26/3 November 2010 page 18
- ^ Ventura buys Grenda Australian Bus issue 49 January 2012 page 5
- ^ Ventura takes over Grenda's bus operations Australian Bus Panorama issue 27/4 January 2012 page 7
- ^ Public Transport Victoria 2 August 2013
- ^ Department of Transport
- ^ Kinetic Group 5 October 2021
- ^ Route 901 timetable 19 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine Public Transport Victoria