Top 15 buses: Scania K320UB 4×2

Until the end of 2023, ACT Bus will be revealing the Top 15 buses of all time in the Canberra / ACTION Bus fleet (determined by number in the fleet).

At number 2, is the Scania K320UB 4×2 (Euro VI) with 198 vehicles.

First in service: Bus 539, July 2014
Latest in service: Bus 730, November 2023
Years in service: 10 (Still active)

In February 2013, the ACT Government issued a tender for 77 low-emission diesel standard-length buses. By November 2013, the contract was awarded to Scania for supply of K320UB 4×2 Euro VI-compliant buses built with a Custom Coaches CB80 body. The first bus supplied in this order was Bus 539 which entered service in July 2014.

The order for 77 buses was expanded to 82 – with 41 buses allocated to each depot.

In 2017, 20 buses were delivered with the body switching to the Bustech VST model and featuring the mostly blue “Transport Canberra” bus livery. Thirty more buses would follow in 2018, with bodies shared between Bustech and Volgren. In 2019, a further 40 buses were ordered with bodies to be built by Precision Buses – a joint venture between Bustech and Precision Components based in Adelaide. These buses would enter service in 2020.

With the ACT Government committing to zero-emissions for public transport by 2040, no further diesel buses would be purchased after 2020 (due to the expected 20 year life span), however diesel buses could still be leased. After a lengthy tender process, a contract was awarded in 2022 to Scania to lease 26 new K320UBs (with body by BusTech of Adelaide) for a 10-year period – these buses were originally intended to be delivered by the end of 2022 however ongoing delays have resulted in only 9 out of 26 being delivered (as at October 2023).

Delivered	Body	Fleet numbers	Total
2014-16	Custom Coaches CB80	539 – 620	82
2017-18	Bustech VST	622 – 651	30
2018	Volgren Optimus	652 – 671	20
2020	Precision Buses / Bustech VST	682 – 721	40
2023-24	BusTech (Adelaide) VST	722 – 747	26