The first suburb to be gazetted in the Tuggeranong Valley, Kambah’s bus route commenced on 24 June 1974.
Route 22 ran from Woden Interchange to a terminus near the intersection of Boddington Crescent and Carleton Street.
According to the interim timetable, the approximately 18 minute route traversed Boffington (sic) Cres, Drakeford Drive, Sulwood Drive, Namatjira Drive, Hindmarsh Drive, and Launceston Street.
By June 1975, Route 22 had been extended along the remainder of Boddington Crescent, operating along O’Halloran Circuit to the Kambah West Terminus on Jenke Circuit. The service also ran a more direct route to Woden via the Tuggeranong Parkway. The service time remained at 18 minutes.
Also in June 1975, Route 23 was introduced to provide a service for Kambah East. Route 23 ran from Woden Interchange to Kambah via Namatjira, Sulwood, and Drakeford Drives, running along Marconi Crescent and Summerland Circuit to the Kambah West Terminus. The service time was 23 minutes.
By February 1976, Routes 22 and 23 were extended into Wanniassa to provide an interim service to that suburb. However, by October of that year, both services once again terminated in Kambah as Wanniassa gained full time services.
Routes 503 and 504 operated from Woden to Wanniassa, via the Parkway and Drakeford Drive.
The 1980s
In response to concerns raised by the Tuggeranong Community Council about challenges faced by residents without cars, the Tuggie Bus community service was introduced in June 1980. Routes 555 and 556 operated on a loop route around Kambah and Wanniassa, providing links between the two sides of Kambah, and shopping centres in Wanniassa.
The Tuggie Bus was operated by small buses, and ran along a number of streets not serviced by the main feeder service. These included Allchin Circuit, Bateman Street, Learmonth Drive (between Bateman and Vansittart), Springbett Street, Inkster Street, and Mannheim Street.
Due in part to low patronage, the service was discontinued in March 1981.
In 1981, Routes 22 and 23 were renumbered to 250 and 251, with both services now travelling to Kambah via the Tuggeranong Parkway. Livingston Avenue in South East Kambah also gained a service, with Route 252 (which primarily serviced Wanniassa West) providing coverage via Atkins and Vosper Streets. The 250 route series operated Monday to midday Saturday.
Two new routes were also introduced, providing a ‘Shoppers Special’ link from Cooleman Court to Erindale via Stirling, Kambah West (Route 510) and Kambah East (Route 511). These routes operated on weekdays only, approximately hourly between 9am and 4pm.
On Saturday afternoons and Sundays, services to Kambah ran between Woden and the Erindale Centre:
- Route 260 serviced Boddington Crescent, O’Halloran Circuit, Summerland Circuit, Livingston Avenue, and Vosper Street, to Erindale via Wanniassa West
- Route 261 serviced Marconi Crescent, Summerland Circuit, Livingston avenue, and Atkins Street, to Erindale via Wanniassa and Gowrie.
By August 1981, outbound feeder services were replaced by Area buses that departed Woden each half hour between around 7pm and 11.30pm Monday through Saturday. Route 293 covered Kambah West, and Route 294 covered Kambah East. Inbound services (to Woden) operated as normal.
The Area buses did not travel along a fixed route. Rather, passengers advised the driver upon boarding at Woden of their intended destination, or phoned ACTION to request pickup if they were boarding from another location.
In 1984, Route 111 was introduced, operating between Kambah Terminus and Richardson Terminus, via Wanniassa, Fadden, Macarthur, and Chisholm East. The service operated four times in each direction, on weekdays only, to provide a link for Tuggeranong residents to the Kambah Health Centre on Jenke Cct.
By 1986, planning had begun for an expanded Tuggeranong network as the district continued to expand. An additional route was considered that would have travelled via Kambah Pool Road, Allchin Circuit, Barritt Street, Boddington Crescent, Bateman Street, Learmonth Drive, Vansittart Crescent, and O’Halloran Circuit to Kambah Terminus, but never eventuated.
By 1987, planning for a new network was well underway. Routes 250 and 251 were to be replaced by the 120 and 122 (operating weekdays), and Routes 510 and 511 were replaced by Routes 110 and 111. Weekend services were the 160 (Kambah West) and 161 (Kambah East).
In November 1987, interim services were added to provide a link to Tuggeranong Town Centre in Greenway on weekdays and Saturday mornings:
- Route 180 operated from Woden to Tuggeranong, via Drakeford Drive and Soward Way
- Route 181 operated a loop service from Tuggeranong, covering both sides of Kambah
- Route 182 operated a loop service from Tuggeranong, covering South East Kambah, and Wanniassa.
Network 1988 was introduced on 4 July 1988. Area buses were removed, with Kambah being serviced by the following routes:
- Route 110 – Cooleman to Erindale via Kambah West and South East
- Route 111 – Cooleman to Erindale via Kambah East and South East
- Route 120 – Woden to Kambah Terminus via Kambah West
- Route 121 – Woden to Erindale via Kambah South East and Wanniassa
- Route 122 – Woden to Kambah Terminus via Kambah East
- Route 160 – Woden to Erindale via Kambah West and South East (Weekend only)
- Route 161 – Woden to Erindale via Kambah East (Weekend only)
- Route 180 – Woden to Tuggeranong via Drakeford Drive
- Route 181 – Tuggeranong Loop via Kambah
- Route 182 – Tuggeranong to Erindale via Wanniassa and Kambah South East
In 1989, Routes 120 and 122 were extended to Tuggeranong via Athllon Drive, with Route 122 now servicing Vansittart Crescent. Route 121 continued to terminate at Erindale.
Route 181 was renumbered as Route 162, and operated a limited Saturday service between 8am and 2pm via Soward Way.
Route 180 continued to provide a link between Tuggeranong and Woden via Drakeford Drive.
In September 1989, Route 333 was extended to Tuggeranong, operating via Tuggeranong Parkway and Drakeford Drive. Weekend routes 160 and 161 were extended to Tuggeranong, with the 160 taking in Oxley, and the 161 running via Wanniassa and Monash.
The 1990s
By 1992, the 180 series of routes had been deleted. Bus Book 3 lists the following services for Kambah:
- Route 110 – Cooleman to Erindale via Kambah West and Wanniassa (Limited weekday service)
- Route 111 – Cooleman to Erindale via Kambah East and Woden (Limited weekday service)
- Route 120 – Woden to Tuggeranong via Kambah West
- Route 121 – Woden to Tuggeranong via Kambah South East, Wanniassa, and Oxley
- Route 122 – Woden to Tuggeranong via Kambah East and Kambah South West
- Route 710 – Kambah West to City (Commuter Express). This route commenced at O’Halloran/Jenke.
- Route 711 – Kambah East to City (Commuter Express). This route commenced at McTaggart Cct.
By 1996, Routes 110 and 111 had been reduced to two or three services per day in each direction. South-East Kambah was serviced by Route 160 on weeknights and weekends, as the 121 operated on weekdays only.
In 1997, ACTION provided services on Christmas and New Year’s Day (1998) for the first time. Area services operated on Christmas Day, linking to the 333. Route 150 provided coverage of Kambah.
Network ’98 saw Routes 110 and 111 replaced by school services. Routes 120, 121, and 122 were renumbered as 60, 61, and 62. Commuter Express services were discontinued, however Routes 160, 161, and 162 operated as peak extensions of the standard routes to provide a link to the City, albeit via Woden.
Also in the 1990s, a range of school services were amended to service the two sides of the Gleneagles Estate. As the two halves of Gleneagles do not have a road link, buses would first travel along Kambah Pool Road to a turnaround at the second roundabout on Mt Vernon Drive. After continuing as normal along Barrit St and Boddington Cres, buses would then travel along Bateman St, Learmonth Drive and Flagstaff Street, before operating a anti-clockwise loop around Ivo Whitton Circuit and returning to Boddington Crescent.
Selected services on Route 60 also diverted via Gleneagles, which otherwise has not had a regular, full-time service.
Following the changes introduced in Network ’98, Kambah’s services remained relatively unchanged for a number of years.
In 1999, Routes 60 and 62 commenced servicing Corinna Street in Woden (southbound only) following the expansion of Woden Plaza.
The 2000s
In 2000, northbound Route 62 was amended to depart Tuggeranong via Holwell Street, Cowlishaw Street, and Anketell Street.
Two sets of stops on Drakeford Drive (either side of the intersection with Sulwood Drive) were also serviced by Commuter services from Tuggeranong Interchange and the southern Tuggeranong suburbs into the City (85, 87, 785, and 787) and Belconnen (705).
In 2005, Flexibus revived the night time area bus concept, with Route 960 covering Kambah from both Woden and Tuggeranong Interchanges.
By late 2006, Flexibus was replaced by fixed routes. The 60 and 62 returned to full seven day timetables. Route 61 did not operate at weeknights or weekends, with South East Kambah being serviced by Route 961.
The 2010s
The introduction of Network 2019 on 27 April 2019 saw the first major change to Kambah’s route services in more than two decades.
Routes 60 and 62 were replaced by Routes 70 and 71, with southbound services now travelling to Kambah via Cooleman Court and Namatjira Drive, instead of via the Tuggeranong Parkway. Route 71 enters Kambah East via Kambah Pool Road, Barritt Street, and Boddington Crescent, before crossing into Marconi Crescent and continuing to Tuggeranong via the old 62.
Routes 160, 161, and 162 were discontinued. Kambah residents instead have the option of transferring to a City-bound bus at Tuggeranong, Woden, or Weston Creek. Those close to Drakeford Drive are able to take advantage of the 180 and 181 (Conder/Banks and Gordon to the City) during peak periods, utilising the stops on Drakeford (between Boddington/Marconi and Sulwood) or the Tuggeranong Parkway to the north of Sulwood Drive.
Residents of south-east Kambah no longer have a service operating via Livingston Avenue, and Atkins and Vosper Streets, but are able to access the R4 rapid service, which travels along Athllon Drive, also serving a set of stops near the intersection with Learmonth Drive.
The 2020s
Under Network 2023, Routes 70 and 71 were amended to depart Woden via Callam St and Hindmarsh Drive, mirroring their entrance into the town centre. As a result, both services no longer operate via Launceston St, Corinna St, and Melrose Drive.
Other services
Finally, some other routes to service Kambah include Nightriders 191, 192, 911, and 290, and Christmas Routes 1, 91, and 900.
Spot any omissions or errors? Get in touch to let us know.
This page was last updated on 19 February 2023
