The Featured Bus for June/July 2020 is the English bus manufacturer: Associated Equipment Company (AEC)
From the commencement of the Canberra Bus Service in 1926 until the 1970s, the vast majority of buses in the fleet were supplied by AEC of England. A total of 323 vehicles were ordered from this supplier and its subsidiaries.
In order of delivery, the AEC Buses which operated in the Canberra fleet were:
- 1926, AEC Renown 411 – 5 buses
- 1928-29, ADC Renown [1] 413 – 3 buses
- 1933-48, AEC Regal – 46 buses
- 1936, AEC Mercury (school bus) – 1 bus
- 1948-51, AEC Regal III – 46 buses
- 1956-68, AEC Reliance – 120 buses
- 1968-75, AEC Swift – 101 buses
- 1974, Thornycroft Trident [2] – 1 bus
1 – ADC (Associated Daimler Company) was a short-lived joint venture between AEC and Daimler
2 – Thornycroft was acquired by AEC in 1961, the Trident being one of the last vehicles made under the Thornycroft badge.
AEC Renowns were the first buses in the Canberra Fleet, operating from 1926 until 1936.
AEC Regal IIIs were a common sight in the late 1940s & 50s.
📷 Peter Kane
Canberra had the largest fleet of AEC Reliances in Australia with 120 buses.
📷 Ian Lynas
AEC Swifts operated for ACTION until 1982.
Bus 240 was purchased in 1974 due to a shortage of buses required to operate an expanded network.
Further details:
- Associated Equipment Company on Wikipedia
- AEC Reliances – Fleet History in ACT Bus
- AEC Swifts – Fleet History in ACT Bus
- C59351 aka ‘Matilda’ – Fleet History in ACT Bus
- Establishment of a historic fleet in ACT Bus
- Early History articles in ACT Bus: Part One | Part Two | Part Three
Related Featured Bus articles:
- ZIB-240 – Thornycroft Trident
- ZIB-156 – AEC Swift 3MP2R (CVI body)
- Matilda – AEC Regal III
- AEC Reliance (Commonwealth Engineering body)
- AEC Swift 3MP2R (Smithfield body)
- AEC Renown 411 – AEC Renown 411
- AEC Swift MP3R (Athol Hedges body)
- ZIB-100 – AEC Reliance (Freighter coach body)
- Top 15 buses: #12 AEC Regal
- Top 15 buses: #11 AEC Regal III
- Top 15 buses: #5 AEC Swift
- Top 15 buses: #4 AEC Reliance
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This page was last updated on 18 February 2024
