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The Kefford Corporation was a transport company which operated in Victoria from the early 1850s until February 2009, when it was acquired by ComfortDelGro Cabcharge.

History

The Kefford Corporation was started in the early 1850s when Richard Papworth Kefford began operating horse-drawn lorries in Collingwood. The business later began operating trucks but sold that side of its business in 1976.

Westrans

In January 1976, Kefford Corporation became a public transport operator, with the purchase of Point Cook - Werribee Passenger Service, Werribee.

In July 1987, Bono Bus Lines, Maidstone was purchased with route 406 Footscray – Keilor East and operated from a new depot in Footscray. As of 2021, the Bono family continues to operate Firefly Express in Maidstone.

In January 1988, Kefford Corporation purchased the Sitch Group and its subsidiaries:

• Altona Bus Lines, Altona
• Footscray - Yarraville Bus Service, Yarraville
• North Sunshine Bus Service, Sunshine
• St Albans Bus Service, Sunshine
• Sitch Bus Service, Sunshine

In May 1991, St Kilda Bus Service was purchased with route 606 Port Melbourne - St Kilda and rebranded Werribee Bus Lines.

The Point Cook - Werribee, Bono, Sitch and Weribee operations were rebranded as Westrans in Westrans.

Eastrans

In January 1988 Kefford Corporation also purchased routes 605 Melbourne City Centre − Elsternwick and 630 Elwood − Monash University from Sinclair's Bus Service. The operation was rebranded as Eastrans in the 1990s.

Ballarat

In December 1981, Davis Motor Service in Ballarat was purchased.

Geelong

In March 1999, Benders Buslines in Geelong was purchased.

Purchased by ComfortDelGro Cabcharge

In November 2008, ComfortDelGro Cabcharge (CDC) announced the acquisition of Kefford Corporation for A$149 million. At the time Kefford was the fourth-largest bus operator in Victoria, with a fleet of 328 buses and six depots, and with a 16% market share. The acquisition was finalised on 23 February 2009. All Kefford Corporation brands were retained by CDC until 2014.

In February 2009, when ComfortDelGro Cabcharge entered the Victorian bus market with the acquisition of Kefford Corporation for A$149 million, with its fleet of 328 buses and six depots. Kefford was the fourth largest bus operator in Victoria, with a 16% market share. The fleets retained their individual identities and liveries, with small CDC Victoria markings. Initially, the fleet continued to operate as Eastrans and Westrans in Melbourne, Benders Busways in Geelong and Davis Bus Lines in Ballarat.

In July 2013, the route operations of the Driver Group were acquired for A$22 million comprising five routes (612 and 623 - 626) and 42 buses, and integrated into the Eastrans brand.

On 14 July 2014, CDC Victoria launched a new website for its four Victorian brands. Benders Busways was renamed as CDC Geelong and Davis Bus Lines to CDC Ballarat. In October 2014, Westrans and Eastrans were united and rebranded as CDC Melbourne. At the time, CDC Victoria had six depots and operated 446 buses.

In May 2018, CDC Victoria acquired Tullamarine Bus Lines, with its six routes (477-479, 484, 490 and 543) and 36 buses, and integrated it into CDC Melbourne in August 2018. Also included in the purchase is Tullamarine's small taxi management business called Cabways, which was renamed CDC Fleet in November 2018, and operates 13cabs and Silver Top branded taxis.

CDC Victoria's subsidiaries are:

• CDC Melbourne operating out of depots in Airport West (Tullamarine), Oakleigh South (Oakleigh), Sunshine (Sunshine) and Truganina (Wyndham). CDC Melbourne is the third-largest commuter bus operator in Melbourne, with 16% of the market share in the city.
• CDC Ballarat
• CDC Geelong
• CDC Fleet
• CDC Mildura (formerly Buslink Sunraysia)
• CDC Broken Hill (formerly Buslink Broken Hill), under CDC Victoria's control although shown in the CDC NSW website. It operates in Broken Hill, in New South Wales' Far West.

References

1. ^ Smith, Chris (20 December 2008). "Kefford Group Finds a Buyer". Australasian Bus and Coach. Bauer Trader Media. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
2. Kefford Corporation Archived 10 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine Tiltaway
3. "Victorian Buses in the Eighties". Australian Bus Panorama (6/8): 14. May 1991.
4. Melbourne Metropolitan Bus Operators and Fleet Listings. Melbourne: Bus & Coach Society of Victoria. 1991. pp. 31–34.
5. ^ "Victorian Buses in the Eighties". Australian Bus Panorama (7/1): 3. August 1991.
6. "Kefford Group Fleets". Australian Bus Panorama (7/1): 35. August 1991.
7. "Victorian Buses in the Eighties" Australian Bus Panorama 6/1 July 1990 page 13
8. Major bus buys for Kefford & Hill Archived 14 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Australasian Bus & Coach
9. "Kefford Expands" Australian Bus Panorama 15/4 February 2000 page 22
10. "ComfortDelGro Cabcharge Victoria". Archived from the original on 6 October 2010.
11. Cite error: The named reference AB&CNov08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
12. Cite error: The named reference feb2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
13. "ComfortDelGro Expands Melbourne Operations Through A$22.0 Million Acquisition" (PDF). ComfortDelGro. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2013.
14. Skelton, Andrew (20 May 2013). "Acquisition of further Bus Route Service Business in Melbourne" (PDF).
15. "Updates and News". CDC Victoria. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014.
16. CDC A brand new look for CDC Victoria Archived 3 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
17. CDC Group Australian Bus Fleet Lists
18. Cite error: The named reference tullamarine was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
19. Cite error: The named reference fcl2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
20. Cite error: The named reference unitesept2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
21. "Current details for ABN 65 004 836 551". ABN Lookup. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
22. "CDC Vic pays deposit for north-west Melbourne bus operator". Australasian Bus & Coach. 13 April 2018. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
23. "About CDC Fleet". CDC Fleet. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
24. "Annual Report 2018". ComfortDelGro. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
25. Cite error: The named reference vicjun2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
26. ^ Cite error: The named reference march2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
27. "$2 million bus upgrade". Barrier Daily Truth. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.

External links

• Westrans Altona
• Westrans Sunshine
• Westrans Werribee
• Eastrans
• David Bus Lines
• Bender Busways

• Bus companies of Victoria (Australia)
• Bus transport in Melbourne