Volvo B12BLE Euro 3(Custom Coaches)

Volvo B12BLE Euro 3(Custom Coaches)

Volvo B12BLE Euro 3 / Custom Coaches CB60
Body	Custom Coaches 'CB60'
Seating capacity	44
Standing capacity	18
Length	12.5 metres
Fuel type	Diesel
Wheelchair access	Yes
Air conditioning	Yes
Buses currently in service	170
Depot locations	Belmont, Bonnyrigg (Z), Brookvale (V), Burwood (B), Hamilton, Port Botany (P), Randwick (R), Ryde (Y), Tempe (T), Willoughby (M)
Country built	Sweden (chassis) Australia (body)

The Volvo B12BLE Euro 3 / Custom Coaches "CB60" is a low-floor, wheelchair accessible, air-conditioned bus used by the State Transit Authority of NSW in both Sydney and Newcastle. They have cloth 'bench' style seating, and mobitec flipdot destination displays.

Service

185 Euro 3 carbon emissions standards compliant Volvo/CC units were delivered new to the State Transit Authority (initially with 35 to Newcastle Buses, 128 to Sydney Buses, and 22 to Western Sydney Buses) between 2003 and 2007 from Custom Coaches' production line in Villawood, Sydney. The buses carried fleet numbers 1406-1435, 1500-1610 and [[1]].

In October 2013, State Transit Western Sydney Buses; which had been established to operate the T80 service between Liverpool and Parramatta via the Liverpool-Parramatta T-Way; was sold to private operator Transit Systems Australia, under the branding Transit Systems Sydney, which saw STA WSB units 1535-1551, as well as the Bonnyrigg Depot, were placed in the care of TSA as part of the sale of SMBSC Region 3. Sydney units 1530-1534, 1552-1555, 1576-1584, 1595-1598, 1602, 1605, [[2]], and [[3]] were transferred over to private operator Transit Systems Australia (TSA) with the handover of SMBSC Region 6 on the 1st of July, 2018. Units 1406-1435, 1529, 1556, 1558-1567, 1585-1594, 1599-1601, 1603, 1604 and 1606-1610 were transferred into the hands of Keolis Downer. Some TSA buses based in Smithfield have been transferred to Tempe depot in exchange for B12BLEA E5 Volgren articulated units from Region 6 to operate the T80 at greater capacities.

Volvo B12BLE Custom Coaches on Route 254 (outbound)

Route 555 Sydney CBD Shuttle

Specifications

The buses are 12.5 m long, ~2.5m wide, and ~3.2m high, with a total seating capacity of 44 passengers, and a total overall capacity (seated + standing) of 62 passengers (although STA policy states that this must be capped at 59 due to the requirement of no more than 15 standees). These buses are powered by a Volvo DH12D 340 hp 12.130-litre 6-cylinder rear-mounted turbocharged 'Euro 3' emission diesel engine.

There are three 'batches' of this bus delivered. Buses part of the 'first batch'; carrying the fleet numbers 1406-1435 (Newcastle) and 1500-1560; feature a Coachair A/C unit, a MkI B12BLE dashboard, and a 5-speed ZF 5HP552C Ecomat automatic transmission, among other minor details. The 'second batch'; numbered 1561-1610; still featured the MkI B12BLE dashboard, however they were fitted with a 6-speed ZF 6HP552C Ecomat automatic transmission rather than a 5-speed (this is also the same transmission equipped to the Volgren-bodied B12s that were delivered after this batch), in addition to a newer style of A/C unit produced by Thermo King. The 'third batch' was the last to be delivered; with buses being numbered [[4]]; and were very similar to the 'second batch', however the main differentiators that can be used to identify members of this batch are the newer MkII B12BLE dashboard they came with, and the fact that unlike the first two batches, due to being delivered after the Volgren units, all members of this batch were delivered in the 'New Corporate' (Corporate v2) livery, not the v1 scheme which featured the red stripe, as the other two were.

Livery

The buses are painted in the Corporate v1 (blue and white with thin red line) livery and some in the green and white CBD shuttle livery. Buses in the CBD shuttle livery have now been repainted to the standard Corporate livery, due to the cessation of that route. Later models were painted in a slightly modified version of the Corporate v1 livery, lacking the red stripe.

Scale Model

A 1/87 scale model of the B12BLE was produced by Creative Master Northcord Ltd. under the 'AUBus' brand. The model is of fleet number 4805 depicted on an inbound Route 438 to the City in original condition, when new to Burwood depot.

1535 operating for Western Sydney Buses Bonnyrigg depot (defunct) on the first T-way route, T80.

Model Gallery