ACTION


ACTION is a bus operator in Canberra, Australia owned by the ACT Government.

History

On 19 July 1926, the Federal Capital Commission commenced operating public bus services between Eastlake in the south and Ainslie in the north.
The service was first known as Canberra City Omnibus Service, but it has had a number of names over the years, including Canberra City Bus Service, Canberra Omnibus Service and Canberra Bus Service. On 14 February 1977, it was renamed as the Australian Capital Territory Internal Omnibus Network, or ACTION for short.
In 1976, Canberra became the first city in Australia to operate articulated buses after the purchase of 25 MAN SG192s.
As part of the move to ACT self-government, responsibility for ACTION passed from the Federal Government to the ACT Government in 1989.

Network 2019

In June 2018, the ACT Government released a proposal for changes to the bus network to coincide with the opening of the Light Rail which included a 7-day network with 10 rapid routes and an overhaul of the route numbers. The proposed changes caused controversy due to changes to school services and the removal of all Xpresso services. Public consultation for the proposal lasted between June and August 2018 and a modified proposal was released in October 2018. The starting date of the new bus network was pushed back to 29 April 2019 due to delays on the construction of the Light Rail.

Corporate Structure

ACTION is a business unit of the Public Transport Division of the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate of the ACT Government. Transport Canberra was formed on 1 July 2016 combining the Public Transport Division and Capital Metro Agency to manage all public transport operations within the ACT.

Current routes

ACTION operates a 7-day network of bus routes including 9 main routes and 48 local routes.

R2

Route R2 is a limited stop service between Fraser, Kippax, Belconnen, City, Parkes, Barton and Iron Knob Street, Fyshwick.
It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.

R3

Route R3 is a limited stop service between Spence, Belconnen, City, Russell Offices and Canberra Airport.
It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.

R4

services provide a high-frequency link between Belconnen, City, Woden and Tuggeranong.
It operates at a 5 to 10 minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.

R5

Route R5 is a high-frequency link between the City, Woden, Erindale Centre, Calwell Centre and Lanyon Marketplace.
It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.

R6

Route R6 is a high-frequency link between the City, Parkes, Barton, Kingston, Manuka, Narrabundah, the Canberra Hospital and Woden.
It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.

R7

Route R7 is an express link between the City, Cooleman Court and Chapman.
It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.

R8

Route R8 is a direct main route between the Gungahlin Town Centre and the bus stations at Belconnen.
It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.

R9

Route R9 is an east-west link between Belconnen, Canberra Stadium, Dickson and Watson.
It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.

R10

Route R10 is a direct link between Denman Prospect and the City.
It operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekdays, weekends and public holidays.

Regular route services

ACTION's regular weekday services operate either as feeder services to a single town centre or connect two or three town centres via suburban streets.
During weekends and public holidays, ACTION provides a reduced level of service with most suburban routes operating with an hourly or two-hourly frequency.

Other peak services

ACTION operates 3 weekday peak hour routes as an express service between outer suburbs of Tuggeranong and the City. These routes are numbered in the 100 series.

School services

School services are provided by ACTION to schools and colleges throughout the ACT. These are numbered in the 1000 and 2000 series.

Special needs transport

ACTION also operates the special needs transport division which provides transport for school students with a disability. This division is operated using a dedicated fleet of wheelchair-accessible minibuses.

Flexible bus service

The Flexible bus service operates on weekdays to provide a free, basic bus service to passengers with limited access to normal public transport options. Six services operate daily providing a pick up service in the morning from designated suburbs to shopping centres and hospitals, with return services operating in the afternoon.
These bus services are operated by the special needs transport minibuses.

Ticketing

Cash fares

There are four cash fare options on ACTION:
Concession tickets are available to school students, full-time tertiary students, seniors card holders and various government concession card holders.

Pre-paid fares

The pre-paid ticketing system operated by the ACT Government is known as MyWay. It uses contactless smart cards with MIFARE-Technology onto which credit is loaded. Passengers are required to 'tag on' when boarding the bus and 'tag off' when exiting, at which point the appropriate fare is calculated and, if required, deducted from the stored value on the MyWay card.
The MyWay system uses Parkeon software and equipment including Wayfarer 200 consoles and Axio card readers. The system was built and installed by Parkeon's Australian distributor, Downer EDi. Instead of being developed from scratch, MyWay was adapted from Transperth's SmartRider system which also uses Parkeon hardware and software.

Fleet

As at July 2020, ACTION's route service fleet consisted of 463 buses.
ChassisBodyTypeAir conNotesNumber in serviceOrders
Renault PR100.2Ansair MetroStep entrance rigid, Diesel✓Branded as Macks45
Irisbus AgoraCustom Coaches CB60Low-floor rigid, Euro II Diesel✓✓✓One withdrawn after a fire, originally ordered by King Brothers19
Scania L94UBCustom Coaches CB60Low-floor rigid, CNG✓✓✓54
MAN A69 18.310 HOCL-NLCustom Coaches CB60 Evo IILow-floor rigid, CNG✓✓✓16
MAN A69 18.310 HOCL-R-NLCustom Coaches CB60 Evo IILow-floor rigid, Euro IV Diesel✓✓✓2
MAN A69 18.320 HOCL-NL/E5Custom Coaches CB60 Evo IILow-floor rigid, Euro V Diesel✓✓✓87
Scania K320UB 6x2*4Custom Coaches CB60 Evo IILow-floor rigid tri-axle, Euro V Diesel✓✓26
Scania K360UA 6x2/2Custom CB80Low-floor articulated, Euro V/EEV Diesel✓✓✓Fitted with bike racks in June 201733
Scania K320UB 4x2Custom CB80Low-floor rigid, Euro VI Diesel✓✓✓82
Scania K320UB 4x2Bustech VSTLow-floor rigid, Euro VI Diesel✓✓✓637
Scania K360UA 6x2/2Volgren OptimusLow-floor articulated, Euro VI/EEV Diesel✓✓✓11
Scania K320UB 4x2Volgren OptimusLow-floor rigid, Euro VI Diesel✓✓✓20
Hino PonchoLow-floor midibus, Euro V Diesel✓✓Only operates on route 9032
Yutong ZK6131HG1Yutong E12Low-floor rigid, Electric bus✓✓✓On a 12-month trial1

Bicycle racks have been fitted to the front of 94% of the buses in the fleet. Each rack can hold two bicycles. Passengers may load a bicycle onto the rack for free, but must pay a regular fare to travel on the bus.
Apart from buses with all over advertising or special designs, ACTION's fleet sport either a blue, orange and white or a green, orange and white livery. In December 2016, a predominantly blue livery was introduced.
ACTION's Special Needs Transport division operates a fleet of eighteen Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa minibuses. These buses are white in colour and do not operate on route services.
ACTION also operate Toyota Hiace Commuter and Hyundai iMax vans which can be used to transport passengers, Hino Dutro trucks used by mechanics to attend broken down buses and a single Mack tow truck.
ACTION's heritage fleet consists of a 1949 AEC Regal III and a 1961 AEC Reliance.

Infrastructure

Depots

ACTION operates three depots:
ACTION operates seven bus stations, which act as hubs for the districts of Canberra.
City Interchange is located on East Row, Mort Street and Alinga Street. Limited local access is permitted on Mort and Alinga Streets, while East Row is a bus-only street. Since April 2019, several major routes stop in the part of Aligna Street to the west of Northbourne Avenue, but it continued to be open to traffic until 26 July 2019. Woden and Tuggeranong Interchange are off street stations which permit access only to buses, essential traffic and emergency vehicles.
Belconnen Town Centre is serviced by two bus stations located along Cohen Street: Cohen Street Bus Station and Belconnen Community Bus Station. In addition, a major stop is located outside Westfield Belconnen, near the intersection of Cohen and Lathlain Streets. All bus routes travelling to or through Belconnen Town Centre service all three locations. Additional stops are located on Emu Bank and Eastern Valley Way which are serviced by most routes which travel through Belconnen Town Centre.

Bus shelters

Bus shelters installed at stops include what is referred to as a "concrete bunker" which were first installed in May 1975. More modern shelters include glass-sided Adshel shelters which were first installed in 2007 and CAM shelters which were first installed in 2012.