Geelong Transit System
Encyclopedia
The Geelong Transit System was the umbrella operating brand of public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

 in Geelong
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...

, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Since 2009 timetables and signage have been branded as Geelong Transit with a standard Viclink orange theme. Ticketing is part of the statewide myki
Myki
myki is the contactless smartcard ticketing system being introduced on public transport in Victoria, Australia. myki is designed to replace a number of ticket systems in Victoria, primarily the Metcard and V/Line ticketing systems...

 smartcard system.

Formation

Trials of a time-based ticketing system had commenced in Geelong in the early 1980s, as part of a reform of transport ticketing in Victoria, but it was not until 1983 that the Geelong Transit System was introduced. Over time route service buses used in Geelong were painted into the Geelong Transit System livery, of white body and blue stripes. Since Kefford Corporation
Kefford Corporation
-Early history:The Kefford Corporation was started in the early 1850s by Richard Papworth Kefford.-Recent history:* In January 1976, acquired Point Cook - Werribee Passenger Service Pty. Ltd.* In December 1981 acquired H. A. Davis Motor Service Pty. Ltd...

 purchased Benders in 2000 their buses have progressively been repainted into their own green livery.

Since April 2006 V/Line
V/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...

 railway tickets sold to Geelong, South Geelong, and Marshall railway stations have included GTS travel, as part of the integration of the Victorian public transport fare systems before the introduction of myki
Myki
myki is the contactless smartcard ticketing system being introduced on public transport in Victoria, Australia. myki is designed to replace a number of ticket systems in Victoria, primarily the Metcard and V/Line ticketing systems...

. In 2008 the coming availability of daily and weekly tickets was announced.

Former ticketing

Until 2009 the GTS also included a unified time-based multi-modal ticketing system, using paper based tickets issues by staff and inspected manually. Tickets are valid for two hours, from the next full hour after it was purchased. Passengers many make unlimited transfers during the time the ticket is valid, on both urban buses and V/Line rail services. GTS tickets are not valid in conjunction with V/Line travel beyond the GTS network boundary.

The only other type of ticket usable for travel was yearly and half-yearly student bus passes, until April 2006 when V/Line
V/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...

 railway tickets sold to Geelong, South Geelong, and Marshall railway stations included GTS travel, and when daily and weekly tickets were made available in 2008.

Five types of ticket forms existed at the time of withdrawal:
  • McHarry's bus issue: old style paper ticket
  • Benders bus issue: thermally printed paper ticket
  • Preprinted: valid date is clipped out
  • V/Line rail ticket: standard V/Line thermal ticket with GTS code marked on it
  • V/Line rail ticket: standard V/Line conductor issued ticket with GTS code marked on it

Services

The Geelong Transit System covers all government contracted urban route bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

es in Geelong operated by Benders Busways
Benders Busways
Benders Busways is a privately owned transport company in Geelong, Victoria. It operates a number of public transport routes in Geelong under the Geelong Transit System umbrella, as well as bus charter work, and is part of the ComfortDelGro Cabcharge group....

 and McHarry's Buslines
McHarry's Buslines
McHarry's Buslines is a family-owned company dating back to 1932. McHarry's is a transport company in Geelong, Victoria. It operates a number of bus routes in Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf-Coast. McHarry's also operates the Geelong Transit System...

, as well as V/Line
V/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...

 rail services between Lara and Marshall stations on the Geelong line.

Ticketing

The myki
Myki
myki is the contactless smartcard ticketing system being introduced on public transport in Victoria, Australia. myki is designed to replace a number of ticket systems in Victoria, primarily the Metcard and V/Line ticketing systems...

smartcard system was introduced on four Geelong bus routes in December 2008, by March 2009 all bus routes in the Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula area had been completely switched to myki, with all old fare equipment removed. V/Line paper tickets continue to be accepted on buses until they are replaced by myki as part of the statewide rollout.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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