Obscure & forgotten services/other - who remembers?

[Enviro 500]

36, 288, 298, 294, 295, 296, 299, 340 and 380 have now joined the ranks of obscure and forgotten routes following the Airport Line rationalisation.

[Bus Suggestions]

Not quite, considering they’ve only been withdrawn a few hours ago at this stage…

[Enviro 500]

Not quite, considering they’ve only been withdrawn a few hours ago at this stage…

It's still fresh in our minds but the next generation of bus spotters won't know they actually existed.

[shinjiman]

At which point in time was 228 truncated and rerouted into Maddington? Was it when 883 from Cannington to Perth via Livingston and Murdoch was introduced?

As I know the the route 883 even before, the route was running between Curtin University and City Busport via Douglas Avenue and Canning Highway, in limited stop service.

[Traklink]

Reading a recent short thread in the Queensland section got me thinking that every one of the new Airport Line route numbers has been recycled from previous Transperth and MTT routes. Here is a non-exhaustive list:

37 - Perth to Salter Point (replaced by the through-routed 103 around 1990), Kings Park to Perth Airport (renumbered 935 in 2016)
270 - Kenwick to Orange Grove (a very limited service in the early 2000s)
271 - Perth (later Innaloo Bus Stn) to Cobb/Hastings Streets Scarborough (absorbed into the 273 below)
273 - Innaloo to Scarborough Beach (replaced by 410 post-Joondalup Line)
274 - Tuart Hill York St to Perth (variant of route 276 below), Innaloo to Scarborough Beach after-hours route (replaced by 411 post-Joondalup Line)
275 - Tuart Hill York St to Perth (variant of route 277 below)
276 - Osborne Park to Perth (renumbered 403 in 2011)
277 - Tuart Hill Main St to Perth (renumbered 404 in 2011)
278 - Osborne Park to Perth after-hours route (replaced by current 403 and 404)
280 - Karrinyup to Craigie (before the north-west network review around 1985)
290 - Perth to Kewdale (in the 1980s), Kalamunda to Gooseberry Hill via William St Aged Homes (in the 1990s)
291 - Lesmurdie to Pickering Brook (until around 1990), Kalamunda to Gooseberry Hill (renumbered 274 in 2022)
292 - Perth to Kalamunda via Lesmurdie (renumbered 282 in 2003)
940 - Perth to Hamilton Hill (renumbered 115 in 2016)

[PaxInfo]

At which point in time was 228 truncated and rerouted into Maddington? Was it when 883 from Cannington to Perth via Livingston and Murdoch was introduced?

As I know the the route 883 even before, the route was running between Curtin University and City Busport via Douglas Avenue and Canning Highway, in limited stop service.

Was that after or before the old 70 or 76 (which only ran a few trips iirc - this would have been early '90s)?

[busdriver12]

At which point in time was 228 truncated and rerouted into Maddington? Was it when 883 from Cannington to Perth via Livingston and Murdoch was introduced?

As I know the the route 883 even before, the route was running between Curtin University and City Busport via Douglas Avenue and Canning Highway, in limited stop service.

I think that variation of the 883 was in the mid 2000's when it either was renumbered from route 70 or vice versa. It was converted to a limited stops service (hence the 88n numbering) but didn't last long IIRC. I've gone through my timetable collection and cannot locate it, but recall it having a yellow coloured panel which would put it on the South Eastern series.

The previous iteration of the 883 was pre Mandurah train and it ran what is now the 206 route and turned right onto the Freeway and into the City Busport (as it was called then). It appeared on timetable South Eastern 18 (dated 25/9/05) and the map of it is below. You'll notice that the 884 is a variation of the modern 207 much in the same vein.

SE18.jpg (113.49 KiB) Viewed 2493 times

[Traklink]

883 to Curtin was around 1999 to 2001 or thereabouts, and along with the 555 it was on the special Curtin University bus timetable that was later renamed to South Eastern 20 (although unfortunately I do not have a copy early enough). It came after the 70 (through-routed to Cottesloe) and 76 (short-working to Perth City Busport only) which both ran for most of the 1990s.

Before all of this the 883 ran the Forrestfield CityLink route in the late 1980s, which was replaced by the 207, then the 287, then 288-787-788, 286-287-288 and now 270.

Another Curtin Uni route in a similar vein as the 883 was the 74 which ran via Kwinana Freeway and Manning Road in 2007, and had an even shorter lifespan of around 9 months before the Mandurah line (and routes 100-101) came along:

74TT.jpg (64.16 KiB) Viewed 2453 times

74Map.jpg (98.35 KiB) Viewed 2453 times

[WEMBLEY 75]

Reading a recent short thread in the Queensland section got me thinking that every one of the new Airport Line route numbers has been recycled from previous Transperth and MTT routes. Here is a non-exhaustive list:

37 - Perth to Salter Point (replaced by the through-routed 103 around 1990), Kings Park to Perth Airport (renumbered 935 in 2016)
270 - Kenwick to Orange Grove (a very limited service in the early 2000s)
271 - Perth (later Innaloo Bus Stn) to Cobb/Hastings Streets Scarborough (absorbed into the 273 below)
273 - Innaloo to Scarborough Beach (replaced by 410 post-Joondalup Line)
274 - Tuart Hill York St to Perth (variant of route 276 below), Innaloo to Scarborough Beach after-hours route (replaced by 411 post-Joondalup Line)
275 - Tuart Hill York St to Perth (variant of route 277 below)
276 - Osborne Park to Perth (renumbered 403 in 2011)
277 - Tuart Hill Main St to Perth (renumbered 404 in 2011)
278 - Osborne Park to Perth after-hours route (replaced by current 403 and 404)
280 - Karrinyup to Craigie (before the north-west network review around 1985)
290 - Perth to Kewdale (in the 1980s), Kalamunda to Gooseberry Hill via William St Aged Homes (in the 1990s)
291 - Lesmurdie to Pickering Brook (until around 1990), Kalamunda to Gooseberry Hill (renumbered 274 in 2022)
292 - Perth to Kalamunda via Lesmurdie (renumbered 282 in 2003)
940 - Perth to Hamilton Hill (renumbered 115 in 2016)

I know not technically part of the new services supporting the Airport Line but as well as the 280 service there was also:
281 - Karrinyup to Mullaloo
282 - Karrinyup to Mullaloo
283 - Perth to Heathridge

Routes 280, 281 and 282 were part of the original Karrinyup bus station network with the Perth to Karrinyup services being covered by Route 250 (All Stops) via Main Street and Karrinyup Road and Route 256 (Peak Express) via Charles Street, Wanneroo Road and Morley Drive/Karrinyup Road then Mitchell Freeway when constructed.

[WEMBLEY 75]

My last post jogged my memory when my family was prominent along Main Street, Osborne Park and before Karrinyup Road (the main road to the coast was North beach Road) and the Karrinyup Bus Station these were the bus services which ran along Main Street:
253 - Perth - Balcatta (Jones Street)
254 - Perth - Trigg via Balcatta
255 - Perth - Marmion via North Beach and Waterman
257 - Perth - North Beach
258 - Perth - Waterman via North Beach

The 256 operated as the express service and travelled via Charles Street, Wanneroo Road, North Beach Road then the same route as 255 to Marmion.

[WEMBLEY 75]

Also forgot:
259 Perth - Balcatta (Dacre Street)

[Enviro 500]

25* and 26* numbers look set to be used for Byford feeders in future just as 27* numbers are currently used for FAL ones.

[esperanceguy47]

I was volunteering at what was known as CTV Perth (later became Channel 31) at Curtin Uni in 1997, and I used to catch the 883, which IIRC was a limited express service at certain hours in the mornings to Curtin, and ditto in the afternoons back to Perth.

There was also (in 1997) the 172, a service which ran about 4 times per day to Perth (not sure if return), the last of these leaving Curtin around 3pm and blitzing it straight through to the city, running past Kent St Senior High but never picking up from there.

[PaxInfo]

There was also (in 1997) the 172, a service which ran about 4 times per day to Perth (not sure if return), the last of these leaving Curtin around 3pm and blitzing it straight through to the city, running past Kent St Senior High but never picking up from there.

I remember the old 172 from the mid '90s. A very irregular service. It then joined all the other 170s (170 - 179) past Brownlie Towers on Dumond St before going through Wilson and ending up at Willetton/Canning Vale area.

Before the 98/99 Circle Route started it was the only direct bus from that area to Curtin Uni.

[In Transit]

I was volunteering at what was known as CTV Perth (later became Channel 31) at Curtin Uni in 1997, and I used to catch the 883, which IIRC was a limited express service at certain hours in the mornings to Curtin, and ditto in the afternoons back to Perth.

There was also (in 1997) the 172, a service which ran about 4 times per day to Perth (not sure if return), the last of these leaving Curtin around 3pm and blitzing it straight through to the city, running past Kent St Senior High but never picking up from there.

That wouldn't have been the 883, but the 70 in 1997. It ran express between Curtin and the Causeway (with one stop near or on Canning Hwy from memory), then on through the city and on to Cottesloe as the 71, 72 and 73 also did. The 70 only ran towards Curtin in the morning peak and from Curtin in the afternoon peak - generally running every 20 minutes. West of the City it would alternate with the 71/72 to give a 10 minute peak direction frequency between the City and Cottesloe.

The 70 disappeared around the end of 1998, then was replaced in 1999 by the 883 which only ran between the City and Curtin. It ran all day (but not evenings), every 30 minutes, on uni term weekdays. The 883 was predominantly run by artics (for a while there in 1999 Perth Bus only scheduled artics on the 78 and 883). It lasted until either late 2001 or early 2002, when it was withdrawn.

Like the 78 and UWA, the 883 was part funded by Curtin, and when Curtin decided to pull their funding Transperth played hardball and cancelled the 883. For a time 72s were doubled banked during the peaks to Curtin to give enough capacity, which was a pretty ordinary service given the 72 was only a 30 minute frequency in the peak direction for Curtin. This was actually a replay of a similar situation with the 78, which was introduced in 1994 with the aid of a contribution from UWA. In 1995 UWA decided to pull their funding, and Transperth called their bluff by cancelling the service, with significant disruption as a result. On that occasion the 78 ended up being restored after some time.

[Enviro 500]

The introduction of 75 brought some improvement to the bus services in Curtin University. Subsequently, 960 was added.

78 was later replaced by 950 but some trips towards UWA have been scaled back recently.

[Merc1107]

The 883 was predominantly run by artics (for a while there in 1999 Perth Bus only scheduled artics on the 78 and 883).

Cannot help but pickup on this detail... Was this done because it was a logical, proactive thing for Perth Bus to do, and was this sort of action on behalf of a contractor generally well-regarded at the time?

78 was later replaced by 950 but some trips towards UWA have been scaled back recently.

There exists a veritable cornucopia of services at very generous frequencies towards the general vicinity of UWA these days, there's probably far less need for the 950 to run at 1-2min intervals in the peak than there once was (although depending on the signal behaviour for the Mounts Bay Rd bus lanes, it would surely be the quicker option for travel to/from EQ?).

[Enviro 500]

The 883 was predominantly run by artics (for a while there in 1999 Perth Bus only scheduled artics on the 78 and 883).

Cannot help but pickup on this detail... Was this done because it was a logical, proactive thing for Perth Bus to do, and was this sort of action on behalf of a contractor generally well-regarded at the time?

78 was later replaced by 950 but some trips towards UWA have been scaled back recently.

There exists a veritable cornucopia of services at very generous frequencies towards the general vicinity of UWA these days, there's probably far less need for the 950 to run at 1-2min intervals in the peak than there once was (although depending on the signal behaviour for the Mounts Bay Rd bus lanes, it would surely be the quicker option for travel to/from EQ?).

Yes, competition from 995 and Purple CAT eventually cannibalized 950 southern leg.

[Traklink]

Route 883 as shown on the South Perth Travelsmart map, 1999 edition:

[esperanceguy47]

[/quote] That wouldn't have been the 883, but the 70 in 1997. It ran express between Curtin and the Causeway (with one stop near or on Canning Hwy from memory), then on through the city and on to Cottesloe as the 71, 72 and 73 also did. The 70 only ran towards Curtin in the morning peak and from Curtin in the afternoon peak - generally running every 20 minutes. West of the City it would alternate with the 71/72 to give a 10 minute peak direction frequency between the City and Cottesloe.
[/quote]

Yes, I had a '7x' route number floating around in my mind, I thought 76 or 176 or whatever else existed in that time, glad to be proven wrong

[bullswool]

With the 980 replacing the 60 today I was wondering if anyone knows how far back the 60 goes?

[WEMBLEY 75]

I can recall there being only one or two Route 60 trips on weekdays in the late 1960's to Russell Street, Morley when Perth to Morley and the surrounding suburbs were serviced by:
56 - Perth to Eden Hill
61 - Perth to Morley (Wellington Road)
62 - Perth to Morley (Hamersley Avenue)
63 - Perth to Morley (Camboon Road)

More regular services from Perth to Morley were serviced via Route 21 which travelled via Beaufort Street and in the late 60's was the feeder service for two shuttle services:
57 - Morley to Morley (Wonga Road)
58 - Morley to Morley (Bath Road)

In the early 1970's, the Morley Bus Station was built and that is where Route 60 increased its frequency when all of the above services became Morley feeder services from the bus station connecting to and from Perth with Route 60 or Route 66 as the Monday to Friday peak period service.

[bullswool]

That's great information, thank you!

[Enviro 500]

Back in the day 336 also went down to Morley, and occasionally they would wait for the incoming 60 from Perth despite being under different operators.

[PaxInfo]

In the mid-90s the 60 ran either 4 or 8 trips (can't remember) each way on a Sunday. A far cry from the current frequent service!