Pioneer Coaches

Volgren bodied Volvo B10BLE outside Westfield Hurstville, January 2001

Parent| Iffland family
(1918–1986)
Harbridge family
(1986–2001)
Commenced operation| October 1918
Ceased operation| January 2001
Headquarters| Bexley
Service area| St George
Service type| Bus services
Depots| 1
Fleet| 16 (January 2001)
Custom Coaches bodied Mercedes LO814 at Kingsgrove, January 2001

Pioneer Coaches was an Australian bus and coach company based in Bexley, New South Wales. The company was noted for its immaculate blue and red livery, known affectionately as "the blue bus".

## History

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In October 1918, Cornelius Bossley "Con" Iffland commenced operating between Hurstville and Rockdale via Forest Road. Allocated route number 112 in November 1925 it was extended to Brighton-Le-Sands in 1930. In 1932 the business was purchased by Con's brother Harry by which time route 112 had ceased operating to Brighton-Le-Sands but been extended at the other end to Beverley Hills. In November 1934 the operation was named Pioneer Coaches with Con's son Neville appointed manager, a position he would hold until 1982.[1]

In December 1986, the Iffland family sold Pioneer Coaches to Kevin Harbridge.[2] In May 1992, route 455 Kingsgrove to Kogarah via Hurstville was purchased from Allways Bus Service and in October 1996 route 49 Rockdale to Carlton from Sydney Coachlines.[3][4] In April 1997, routes 112 and 49 were renumbered 452 and 453.[5][6]

In January 2001, Pioneer Coaches was sold to Connex Southtrans with 16 buses.[1][7]

## Final routes

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Route | Start | Via | End

|
|
|

452  | Rockdale | Bexley and Hurstville | Beverly Hills
453  | Rockdale | Carlton | Hurstville
455  | Kingsgrove | Hurstville and Kogarah | Rockdale Plaza

## Fleet

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Pioneer Coaches operated a fleet composed predominantly of AECs, Bedfords and Leylands. Fleet livery was blue, red and grey. A vehicle from the Pioneer Coaches fleet, a 1957 AEC Reliance registered m/o 634, is preserved at the Sydney Bus Museum.[8]

## Depot

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Pioneer Coaches operated out of a depot in Bexley.

## References

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1. ^ a b Pioneer Coaches Australian Bus Fleet Lists
2. ^ "Pioneer" Fleetline November 1987 page 262
3. ^ "What Has Changed in 20 Years" Australian Bus Panorama issue 14/2 October 1998 page 8
4. ^ "Timetable and service changes" Fleetline issue 245 November 1996 page 203
5. ^ "Timetable and service changes" Fleetline issue 249 July 1997 page 136
6. ^ "Renumbering of Sydney Private Bus Routes" (PDF). sydneybusroutes.com. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
7. ^ "Private operators" Fleetline March 2001 page 42
8. ^ 634 Sydney Bus Museum exhibits Wayback Machine

## Further reading

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* Birchmeier, John (2002). The Blue Buses of Forest Road. ISBN 0-646-41999-4.

## External links

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Media related to Pioneer Coaches at Wikimedia Commons

* Ken Magor part 1
* Ken Magor part 2