34 Years of the Adelaide O-Bahn Busway on 7 NEWS
By Michael Pretty
On Thursday the 16th July 2020, 3 historic O Bahn buses featured on the weekly ‘Flashback’ segment on Channel 7 news. HCVCA member Michael Pretty and bus owner Nick Waldie brought their ex O Bahn buses down to the Hope Valley Reservoir where they sat trackside along the O Bahn. Reporter Michael Smyth took particular interest in the 34 year old Busway after Bodies appearance on ABC Radio 89.1 talking about the bus preservation movement in Adelaide. In particular, channel 7 news wanted to know about how the O Bahn has performed over its lifetime and how it is still one of the most effective modes of transport in the Southern Hemisphere.
Michael Pretty was interviewed about the restoration and preservation process and Bodie Thorpe, HCVCA member and Secretary from the Bus Preservation Association of South Australia (BPASA) spoke about the significance of the O Bahn in Adelaide along with former bus driver Roy Platt reminiscing about the glory days of driving on “The Fastest Busway in the world”. The article aired on Thursday 30th July 2020 and was met with positive engagement and feedback from the community with much comment on social media and two references on morning radio the day after. Currently there are 4 buses historically registered with the HCVCA and hopefully moving forward more buses can join the club once they are restored.
The 3 buses featured in the article were 2 original Mercedes Benz O 305s, One Rigid being ex 1540 (second to last rigid built) and Articulated ex 1594 (second to last artic built) which have both been restored to their original 1986 appearance with the blue and green O Bahn stripes. The third bus which was recently restored was ex 1345 which is an example of the MAN SL202 Diesel units which were additional buses used on the Busway from 1992 onwards displaying the STA Corporate blue and red livery.All 3 buses played a significant role in the O Bahn’s history and as a small group we are very proud of our accomplishments in keeping Adelaide’s bus history alive. Over the last 10 years we have secured 30 ex government buses for restoration and preservation