Top 15 buses: Renault PR100.3

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 14, is the Renault PR100.3 with 42 vehicles.

First in service: Bus 991, 2 July 1993
Last withdrawn: Bus 116, 1 July 2020
Years in service: 28

The Renault PR100.3 buses were introduced immediately following the PR100.2. However, these buses ended the long-running relationship with Ansair as they instead featured Starliner bodies from Austral Denning, Brisbane but with front and rear cowl based on the Renault R312 Paris Bus.

The PR100.3 introduced many new features to the Canberra bus fleet, some successful and some not-so. These included:

• Compliance with ADR 59 (bus rollover strength)
• Electrically-operated side mirrors
• Driver-operated pneumatic roof hatches
• Electronic accelerator
• Auto closing front doors – system later deactivated
• First natural gas powered buses (990 & 991) – later converted to diesel
• First Euro II compliant engines
• First wheelchair-accessible buses (113 & 126-131)

Despite only 42 buses in the fleet, there were five variants of this model:

• Buses 990 & 991 – originally natural gas powered
• Buses 992-995 – prototype buses with PR100.2 running gear
• Buses 996-999, 100-112 & 114-125 were the standard PR100.3 vehicles
• Bus 113 – prototype wheelchair-accessible bus
• Buses 126-131 – standard version wheelchair-accessible buses

Bus 130 was the first of these vehicles withdrawn in August 2013 due to a collision. The remaining buses began being withdrawn from June 2014 with the last vehicle to depart in July 2020, even though many of their older cousins – the PR100.2s – remained in service.

Gallery:

Further reading:

• Featured Bus: Bus 990 (PR100.3NGV)
• Featured Bus: Bus 992 (prototype PR100.3)
• Featured Bus: Bus 108 (PR100.3)
• Featured Bus: Bus 113 (prototype PR100.3a)
• Featured Bus: Bus 130 (PR100.3a)
• Featured Bus: Renault PR100.3
• PR100.3 NGV specifications on ACT Bus website
• PR100.3 specifications on ACT Bus website
• PR100.3a specifications on ACT Bus website

This page was last updated on 18 February 2024