Bus Preservation Association South Australia in Adelaide, South Australia | Community organisation

Bus Preservation Association South Australia

Locality: Adelaide, South Australia

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24.01.2022 Yesterday marked the end of an era in Adelaides bus history. Bus 899, a CNG powered MAN SL202 was officially the last true high floor bus in Adelaide Metro service. The term high floor is a retronym that came about after low floor wheelchair friendly buses gradually became common around the world throughout the 90s and 2000s. 899 is also the last non-wheelchair accessible bus, and the last bus of STA design with push-open centre doors to finally hang up its cap after... all these years. While it seems fairly unlikely any of the CNG powered SL202s will be saved for preservation due to the difficulties surrounding refuelling them, BPASA members have already saved 5 of their very similiar diesel powered siblings. We will cover them individually at a later date however :) For now here is 899 (formerly 1699) closing a chapter of history last night, with a full crew of enthusiasts and a very obliging driver, who was kind enough to let people know about the occasion. Do you have any stories about these Gassies in service? Please tell us below :)

23.01.2022 2019 has been a large one for us. Forming a new association and running our first official events have taken a large group effort, and there is still much more to go! Ending our year with a bang we would like to announce the latest members to join our fleet. 6 M.A.N SL202s & 1 Mercedes-Benz 0305G have been secured by our members and are effectively our own Christmas Presents.... Welcoming M.A.N SL202s 421, 422, 424, 425, 444 & 445. The SL202s were introduced to the STA from 1992 onwards with units being numbered 1321 through 1345. Renumbered 421-445 respectively in 2000 with the division of Trans Adelaide to private operations they saw a varied life in service, with many units operating on Adelaides guided-busway or Obahn for many years. Preceding the further 100 CNG variants (of which 27 are still in active service) they have the unique prestige of being the only metropolitan buses to exceed the Australian omnibus roll-over legislative requirements. As such they are renowned for their build quality and solid feel. Mercedes-Benz 0305G #1594 was saved from the scrap yards at the 11th hour and joins 3 other former busway Mercedes buses already in our collection. The 0305s have a very special history, operating the longest (still) guided busway in the Southern Hemisphere for more than 25 years. Once again, from everyone at BPASA wed like to wish you a very Happy New Year!

22.01.2022 Today our three Silver MAN SL200s (from left: 1900, 1897, 1917) had a little catch up down south for an hour or so. 2019 was a great year for our association and next year should bring more fun for all! From everyone here at BPASA, wed like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

21.01.2022 Here at BPASA we are inclusive and open to all types of buses and coaches However, as most of our members are located within metropolitan Adelaide that means most of our member fleet currently consists of former metropolitan service buses However there is currently one bright yellow exception; meet 1432; it is proudly owned by member Mitch in Red Hill.... 1432 is a 1991 build Hino AK176K with locally built PMC Adelaide bodywork, and is one of 170 nearly identical Hinos built for the education department between 1984 and 1991. Differences between the fleet mostly being the chassis type (1150 to 1289 are BX341E; same drivetrain but otherwise identical outwardly) and styling differences to the rear of the earliest buses. For many years the bright yellow Hinos were a very familiar sight around rural South Australia; usually tucked away quietly in most towns at their respective schools during the day, but busy tearing about the countryside noisily during the early morning and late afternoon runs. Those lucky enough to catch these to and from school (or on excursion) probably remember how slow and noisy these buses were (especially with a full load of kids and their camping gear etc) and also how hot they could be during summer with no airconditioning and being stuck to the scorching hot green vinyl seats. But it was all part of the charm and memories we think By 2017 all had been retired and replaced with a wide assortment of different bus types, marking an end to a standardized locally built fleet and also to school buses without air conditioning. What are some of your memories of these trusty old girls?

20.01.2022 Meet 1347, A very unique bus among the preserved fleet, 1347 is our first, and so far only low floor bus (i.e. no steps on entry). Originally built in 1992 with three other near identical NL202 units, 1347 and its sisters were prototypical and were the first low floor buses built for the State Transport Authority, Adelaide. ... They also featured kneeling suspension, bonded fully sealed windows and saloon air conditioning, all a big first. Eventually the 4 sisters were withdrawn, with 3 being stored after withdrawal at Morphettville bus depot. 1347 was deemed to be the fittest of that trio, and was purchased by Pete D for preservation in 2018. The other two were non-runners and subsequently salvaged for useful parts then scrapped. This leaves dear old 1347 as the only Mk1 chassis NL202 left in Australia, and probably the Southern Hemisphere. And as such, it is pampered and very loved by her doting owner. Eventually it will be returned to original as-delivered STA livery with the well known blue and orange speed stripes. Do you remember these ground breaking buses in service? Tell us below :)

19.01.2022 The latest addition our preserved bus fleet is 1980 Volvo B58 #1454, ex 2419 and KST Sydney. Soon she will re-join her homeland but today she flawlessly performed on her drive to her temporary home! Thanks to all involved with every step of the process so far! If you want to enjoy a ride on some of our preserved buses, come along to our SL200 day this Saturday to enjoy two completely restored buses! On Sunday we have an event on Torrens Transit Company Owned vehicles.... More information available in our events section on our page! (Day one of the 2019 Adelaide Bus Tour: https://www.facebook.com/events/544039969677675/?ti=cl ) See more

18.01.2022 Save the date! On the 1st of November BPASA is holding an enthusiast tour of the Adelaide Hills! We will be tracing forgotten routes of yesteryear and having a great time in 3270 bus, which has been kindly made available to BPASA by SouthLink for the day. 3270 is a 2001 Scania L94UB, but it is unique in the Adelaide Metro fleet in that it STILL carries the classic Hills Transit/Transit Plus livery. It will be a full day tour from 9:30am until approximately 5:30pm, covering a...round 250kms with many interesting stops and stories as well as a lovely lunch break in Strathalbyn. Cost is $25 for members and $35 for non members; with a membership pack available on the day! More details later this week, including how to book, so please stay tuned :) See more

16.01.2022 MAN SG280H, 1954 and Volvo B58, 1466 out for a run in the hills last weekend. Big thanks to Arnold for bringing his drone along and taking some fantastic photos.

15.01.2022 BPASA would proudly like to announce that MAN SL200 no. 1897 will be participating in this years Bay to Birdwood event on the 27th of September. 1897 is one of our iconic silver SL200s, and is owned by our own local media celebrity Bodie Thorpe. We would love to see you along the way and perhaps share a wave and a honk, especially seeing how much happy attention Volvo B58 no. 1466 received last year. If you have a great photo of 1466 from last years event please share it be...low; if we love it enough it could even become our new cover photo! :) For future events we plan to have our buses open to members to join in the fun. But for now please bare with us as we tackle the final hurdles of membership legislation and opening ourselves up to the public. I bet you cant wait, and neither can we! Please note: This years Bay to Birdwood faces COVID 19 restrictions; for more details please visit the Bay to Birdwood site posted below. See you along the way!

14.01.2022 Sunday's tour with 3270 turned out to be a great success, and an all around fun day out. Feedback seemed overwhelmingly positive, and it was fantastic to see everyone chatting and making new friends as we ambled through the scenic Adelaide hills making plenty of photo stops, and with perfect weather really creating a magic atmosphere! Many thanks to all who attended, you have helped us immensely with our cause and we look forward to seeing you at another BPASA event in future...! If you have photos from the day that you'd like to share, please post them or a link below in the comments, cheers! Not a bad result for our club's first major event, thanks again :)

14.01.2022 Tune in to ABC 891 tonight at 7:30 to hear our own BPASA secretary Bodie Thorpe share some insight with Peter Goers about our group. While historic car groups might be commonplace, bus preservation is a unique interest that is growing fast in South Australia. Bodie is sure to cover some interesting points, so if you are curious about us, or just plain love buses remember to tune in to ABC 891 at 7:30 tonight :)

14.01.2022 Today we rounded up our Volvo B58 & B10Ms for a quick photo shoot to commemorate their 40th anniversary. Unfortunately the B58 Articulated Bus (1355) couldnt make it. Its owners work at one of our hospitals and have been doing a tremendous job dealing with Covid-19. We cant thank them enough for their efforts! Speaking of Covid-19, an event was in the pipeline for this weekend. That has been postponed until further notice. So watch this space for updates!

13.01.2022 We would like to thank everyone who attended our first official event, Adelaide Bus Tour 2019. The feedback we received was all positive, so rest assured this isnt our last event! Thanks to Kanga Coachlines for letting us into their facility and to ride their modern and comfortable fleet, and thanks to Torrens Transit for allowing us to hire their unique and most enthusing vehicles! We would also like to thank all involved with planning, organising, and executing the event.... A job well done! We look forward to seeing you all at the next BPASA event. See more

13.01.2022 With the Contract changes, last Friday 1466 was invited back to Southlinks Lonsdale Depot to be a part of the farewell. 1466 was operated by Southlink in her final years in service and carried the fleet number 2431. Big thanks to Darren for taking care of the bus and for the photos.

12.01.2022 BPASA would proudly like to announce that MAN SL200 no. 1897 will be participating in this year's Bay to Birdwood event on the 27th of September. 1897 is one of our iconic silver SL200s, and is owned by our own local media celebrity Bodie Thorpe. We would love to see you along the way and perhaps share a wave and a honk, especially seeing how much happy attention Volvo B58 no. 1466 received last year. If you have a great photo of 1466 from last year's event please share it be...low; if we love it enough it could even become our new cover photo! :) For future events we plan to have our buses open to members to join in the fun. But for now please bare with us as we tackle the final hurdles of membership legislation and opening ourselves up to the public. I bet you can't wait, and neither can we! Please note: This year's Bay to Birdwood faces COVID 19 restrictions; for more details please visit the Bay to Birdwood site posted below. See you along the way!

11.01.2022 Tune in to 7 News tonight from 6pm for an Adelaide Obahn history piece featuring some beautifully restored member owned buses. Day by day our cause seems to be gaining traction with the media and the enthused general public! Thank you all :)

10.01.2022 And the first trip is underway! Buses take off every 10 minutes both days this weekend between 10am and 4:15pm. Come along for a ride! Please note that this is an NRM event! Refer to the NRM Facebook page for further information!

10.01.2022 The National Railway Museum is having it's Heritage Transport Expo on Saturday and Sunday the 10th and 11th of October from 10am to 4:30pm on both days. The NRM has graciously allowed us to have a display at their open days in previous years, and the historic buses have always proved to be a very popular attraction with everybody, young and old. 1001 and 1355 will be open and on display at the event. 1001 is an iconic silver Volvo B59, and 1355 is a Volvo B58H articulated bus..., both ex-State Transport Authority buses, and both currently representing different periods in their working lives. However this year comes with an exciting twist! We will have an additional two buses providing 15 minute joy rides around the Port Adelaide area; 1812 and 1897 are both ex STA MAN SL200s and will definitely bring back those nostalgic feelings and memories as they cruise around the Port making all the familiar noises. Our friendly BPASA team will be there, both on the loop buses and at the display, so please feel free to stop and have a chat about our lovely buses and our organisation. More details are in the link provided, so bring your friends and family and we're sure to see you at the event!

10.01.2022 The National Railway Museum is having its Heritage Transport Expo on Saturday and Sunday the 10th and 11th of October from 10am to 4:30pm on both days. The NRM has graciously allowed us to have a display at their open days in previous years, and the historic buses have always proved to be a very popular attraction with everybody, young and old. 1001 and 1355 will be open and on display at the event. 1001 is an iconic silver Volvo B59, and 1355 is a Volvo B58H articulated bus..., both ex-State Transport Authority buses, and both currently representing different periods in their working lives. However this year comes with an exciting twist! We will have an additional two buses providing 15 minute joy rides around the Port Adelaide area; 1812 and 1897 are both ex STA MAN SL200s and will definitely bring back those nostalgic feelings and memories as they cruise around the Port making all the familiar noises. Our friendly BPASA team will be there, both on the loop buses and at the display, so please feel free to stop and have a chat about our lovely buses and our organisation. More details are in the link provided, so bring your friends and family and were sure to see you at the event!

10.01.2022 Happy 40th Birthday to the old Brown Bombers On this day in 1980 the first one was delivered and today our little group has 6 saved. Michael P.

09.01.2022 We think it's safe to say everyone who visited us at the BPASA display or enjoyed a cruise around the Port on one of our heritage buses had a great time over the weekend! The weather turned out absolutely perfect for both days and everyone seemed to be soaking up the fun and atmosphere at the National Rail Museum Thank you all who visited, and especially those that stopped for a chat or made a donation to our club, it truly does help us and our cause. Maybe one day in the future the NRM will have an event at a BPASA museum instead, who knows ;) Thank you again, and stay posted for details about our up and coming Hills tour extravaganza on the 1st of November!

08.01.2022 Here we are! Keep an eye out for us in the procession!

06.01.2022 SOLD OUT!! Wow - thanks for your support! After many weeks of meticulous planning we are happy to open up to bookings for our 2020 Hills Tour using retro liveried 3270 bus, on November the 1st. Planned with enthusiasts in mind especially, we will spend the day re-tracing former hills routes and termini from throughout the decades, with one of our own esteemed BPASA members (and raging bus enthusiast) at the helm.... Provided below is a link to Humanitix, where you can book your seat. Payment however will be on the day prior to boarding There are very limited seats available, so first in, best dressed! (note: those that have pre booked and paid at the NRM event last weekend need not worry about booking via the web link, thanks) See you there https://events.humanitix.com/hills-history-tour-2020

05.01.2022 Officially Official!!! Some great news today with our Interim Public Officer, Joseph receiving our Certificate of Incorporation! Since our very first meeting on September 22, 2019, a lot of hard work by the whole team and associates has got us to where we are today!... Also a big thanks to the National Railway Museum for their input and use of their facilities for our meetings! Congratulations team! Give yourselves a big pat on the back! Looking forward to the future of preserving buses in this state!

05.01.2022 Keep an eye out for this old girl in tomorrows Bay to Birdwood! 1,750 classic vehicles leave West Beach from 8:30am.

04.01.2022 With the Contract changes, last Friday 1466 was invited back to Southlink’s Lonsdale Depot to be a part of the farewell. 1466 was operated by Southlink in her final years in service and carried the fleet number 2431. Big thanks to Darren for taking care of the bus and for the photos.

04.01.2022 1897 looks the part today, all spruced up and ready for it's first Bay to Birdwood. It's in the commercial vehicle category and will travel in convoy with some very interesting and nicely restored older trucks. If you're not able to attend roadside and watch the precession in person, it is being live streamed on Channel 44 and also available online from the link below. Tune in later for an extensive post with photos from the BPASA day at the Bay to Birdwood rally :)... https://www.google.com/url

03.01.2022 What Adelaidian wouldnt recognise a bus like this! This is 1001 of course. The first Volvo B59 built for Adelaide in 1977, and a very special addition to the BPASA fleet of member owned preserved buses. 1001 has been a lady in waiting for many years until recently. ... After retirement in 2001 it was purchased by Dave P and would end up in its own purpose built shed in Angaston, safely tucked away under cover and out of the elements. Dave owned her for 17 years, and did an amazing job keeping her so tidy and original. In 2018 Matt T, our down to earth BPASA president, purchased 1001 with the same view of preserving and eventually fully restoring 1001 to as-new 1977 condition. It is a beautiful bus, and both gentlemen should be proud of their efforts so far with this much beloved bus that many people remember as the iconic Adelaide bus overr almost 4 decades. Do you remember the B59s in service? Share your stories with us below! And dont worry, were all bus nuts, your secret stays here ;) well.. kind of

03.01.2022 We had a great time today at the Bay to Birdwood rally with the famous and trusty 1897. Initial concern was that we might hold up traffic with our bus, but it turns out an MAN SL200 is actually fairly zippy compared to a lot of vintage and veteran cars! We were very lucky to have our ever obliging BPASA photographer Damian along for the ride to capture just some of the special moments from the day.... Even without the usual gathering of motoring enthusiasts at the end in Birdwood it was still a great day out cruising along and soaking up the atmosphere as we waved at crowds of people along the way. Enjoy Damian's fine photography from today in the link below :) https://www.flickr.com//baytram366/albums/72157716140623196

03.01.2022 Thanks to all that waved to us along the way, or came up and said hi when we were at Birdwood! I can safely say all involved had a grand time! If you didnt get to see us yesterday, or want to come and ride one of our buses soon, check out the Adelaide Bus Tour 2019: Day One event! ( https://www.facebook.com/events/544039969677675/ )

02.01.2022 Another beautiful day to catch a ride on our buses! We’ll be running every 10 minutes until 4:15pm!

01.01.2022 Bus Preservation in Adelaide is fairly new & relatively unknown to the general public outside of a few enthusiast appreciation groups on Facebook. These pages should be used for more general history and bus storys, this page exists purely for our fleets updates and journeys. Our group of very dedicated young enthusiasts have amassed a sizeable collection of ex- Adelaide Metropolitan buses dating from the late 1970s through to the early 1990s. This era in Adelaides pu...Continue reading