ABC #399

IN FOCUS
TFNSW PANEL 3 BUSES
ILLAWARRA
TO SEE FIRST
‘PANEL 3’ BUSES
A family owned
and operated
bus company in
the coastal NSW
Illawarra region will
soon be running
the first Transport
for NSW (TfNSW)
‘Panel 3’-compliant
buses, which needed
new fire-retardant
materials and firesuppression
systems
to meet the latest
‘Crib 7’ standard,
Volgren reports
recently.
Established in 1923, Dion’s Bus
Service – based in the
Wollongong suburb of Fairy
Meadow – is the oldest bus
operator in the Illawarra.
The concept behind the term ‘Panel
3’ refers to TfNSW’s new procurement
arrangement where all new buses travelling
in New South Wales must meet passenger
safety improvement measures, including
stringent new fire-mitigation specifications.
The two low-floor route buses,
incorporating Volgren Optimus bodies on
Volvo BR8 chassis, will replace vehicles
coming to the end of their life, and
Dion’s managing director Les Dion
says that will make a significant difference
to passengers.
“The two new buses will go into service in
late November, replacing two older buses
approaching their maximum contract bus
age of 25 years,” Dion said.
“Being low-floor accessible buses we
will be able to better accommodate
wheelchairs and prams, as well as our
elderly customers.
“By replacing two standard buses with
accessible buses we are now in a position to
be able to provide 100 per cent accessible
buses to all of our scheduled passenger
services,” he added.
GREAT TRANSFORMATION
Dion’s fleet, having served its customers
through World Wars and depressions,
has transformed greatly during that
time and now, as one could imagine.
“In early days you would use your
resources to maintain your fleet and
even add gas-producing charcoal
burners to keep the buses going when
fuel was scarce during the Second
World War,” Dion said.
In fact, there was even a period where
Dion’s would ‘re-body’ its own buses in
order to keep costs down. When it could
no longer do this, Dion’s would revert
to buying second-hand buses. In 1989,
Dion’s purchased its first new bus in 40
years, it confirms.
Les Dion says the company’s first
Volgren entered the fleet in 1998 and
that was the first time the team saw a
reliable bus body.
“This bus shared the same chassis as
three previous buses with a different
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ABC November 2020 busnews.com.au