 | |
_Volgren_%2527CR228L%2527_bodied_Volvo_B7RLE_at_Castle_Hill_Interchange_(cropped)2.jpg) AVolgren CR228L bodiedVolvo B7RLE in July 2013 | |
| Parent | ComfortDelGro Australia |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 2002 (brand) December 2004 (company) |
| Defunct | April 2023 (replaced byCDC NSW) |
| Service area | Hills District |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Depots | Foundry Road (Seven Hills) Dural Rouse Hill |
| Website | www.cdcbus.com.au/hillsbus |
Hillsbus was an Australian bus company that operated services in theHills District ofSydney. Founded in 2004 whenNational Express merged itsGlenorie Bus Company andWestbus (Hills District operations only) subsidiaries, it was later part ofComfortDelGro Australia. In early 2023, the Hillsbus brand was replaced by ComfortDelGro'sCDC NSW brand.
In 1996,Westbus established a separate Hillsbus brand to run express services from theHills District to theSydney CBD andNorth Sydney, initially via theAnzac Bridge and from 1997 via theM2 Hills Motorway.[1] However, the Hillsbus brand seemed to have disappeared by the 2000s as these services were classified as Westbus rather than Hillsbus in early versions of the Westbus website.[2] These Westbus services, however, were still referred to by Westbus as "Hills City Express".[3]
_Volgren_%2527CR228L%2527_bodied_Scania_K280UB_14-5m_at_Castle_Hill_Interchange.jpg)
On 11 February 2002, Hillsbus was revived as a joint venture between Westbus andNational Express' newly acquiredGlenorie Bus Company, and introduced a new bus route 642 under the Hillsbus brand.[4] This service linkedDural and theCity via theM2 and was therefore known as a "M2 City" express service. The joint venture also brought in five new articulated buses for the service in May that year.[5] On 8 July 2002, Hillsbus introduced three more M2 City routes 650, 652 and 654.[6][7] According to the Hillsbus timetables, these Hillsbus services were operated by Glenorie,[8] even though neither Westbus nor Glenorie buses were used.[6][9]
In December 2004, all Westbus routes operating out ofNorthmead andSeven Hills depots, as well as the rest of Glenorie Bus Company, were rebranded Hillsbus.[10] At the same time, Hillsbus took over the operation ofHarris Park Transport routes 620 - 630, following the latter ceasing operation. The services were transferred from Hillsbus toSydney Buses on 28 January 2005.[11] On 25 September 2005, after the purchase of Hillsbus by ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, routes 620, 625, 626, 627 and 630 were transferred back to Hillsbus.[12]
Despite the rebranding to Hillsbus, the new Hillsbus website was only launched in January 2006, about a year after the rebranding.[13] The delay could be related to the debt of Westbus and was only resolved after the sale of Westbus and Hillsbus to CDC. After the launch of the new website, it still did not show any timetables of the former Glenorie-operated timetables until May/June 2006, and during this period, customers were asked to check the Glenorie website instead.[14]
When the Parramatta - Rouse Hill section of theNorth-West T-way opened on 10 March 2007, routes 730 (renumbered T63) and 735 (renumbered 616, now 616X) were transferred fromBusways to Hillsbus with route 718 transferred from Hillsbus to Busways.[15]
On 30 June 2014, theOpal card was rolled out on all of Hillsbus'NightRide andRegion 4 routes (including school services).[16][17]
On 28 July 2019, after theSydney Metro Northwest opened in May, bus routes in the Hills District were reorganised, with some services rerouted to stop at various Sydney Metro stations.[18][19]
In November 2022, CDC was awarded the contract to retain Region 4. The Hillsbus branding on buses was gradually replaced by the CDC NSW brand in early 2023, in time for the commencement of the new contract in April 2023.[20][21]
_-_MO8269-610X-B-la.jpg)
From 2005 until its replacement by CDC NSW in 2023, Hillsbus' services had formedSydney Bus Region 4.[22] In August 2013, Hillsbus successfully tendered to operate the Region 4 services for another five years from August 2014.[23][24]
At the time of cessation, Hillsbus operated the following services:
Hillsbus also operated other railway replacement bus services between 2018 and 2019. Hillbus operatedStation Link services (SLx series) between September 2018 and May 2019, while theEpping to Chatswood rail link was closed for upgrading and conversion toSydney Metro Northwest. It stopped atEpping,Chatswood,Macquarie Park,Eastwood,Macquarie University,Beecroft andSt Leonards stations. It was jointly operated withTransdev NSW.[25] The service ceased when the Metro opened in May 2019.[citation needed]
Thereafter, until November 2019, Hillsbus operated theNorth West Night Bus to supplement theMetro North West Line on Sunday to Wednesday nights.[26][27] Like Station Link, it was jointly operated with Transdev NSW.[citation needed]
%2c_operated_by_Hillsbus%2c_Bustech_CDi_at_Castle_Hill_Interchange.jpg)
As of July 2022, Hillsbus operated 601 buses across four depots:[28][29]
Hillsbus also operated 62 buses at the Camellia depot designated forStation Link between September 2018 and May 2019, but they have since been moved to other Hillsbus,Hunter Valley Buses andBlue Mountains Transit depots after the cessation of Station Link.
.jpg)
Prior to 2010, Hillsbus adopted Westbus' new plain yellow livery. With the introduction ofMetrobus routes, the Metrobus livery was applied to new buses dedicated to Metrobus operations. In 2010, theTransport for NSW white and blue livery began to be applied on new buses and repainted buses. Fleet dedicated forStation Link also carried the Transport for NSW livery but with "Station Link" labels and a pink body front. Most of the Station Link fleet have had the labels and pink front removed after the cessation of Station Link.
_Volvo_B10BLE_mo8342_April_2009.jpg)
_Volgren_%2527CR228L%2527_bodied_Scania_K230UB_at_Castle_Hill_Interchange.jpg)
%2c_operated_by_Hillsbus%2c_Volgren_%2527CR228L%2527_bodied_Scania_K280UB_14-5m_at_Castle_Hill_Interchange.jpg)
.jpg)
%2c_operated_by_Hillsbus%2c_Volgren_%2527CR228L%2527_bodied_Volvo_B7RLE_at_Castle_Hill_Interchange.jpg)
Media related toHillsbus at Wikimedia Commons
 Metro |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Train |
| ||||||||||
 Bus |
| ||||||||||
 Ferry |
| ||||||||||
 Light Rail |
| ||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||
Italics denotes services yet to commence | |||||||||||