bus service parent dion family commenced operation 1923 headquarters fairy meadow service area wollongong service type bus operator routes 3 depots 1 fleet 18 may 2014 website www.dions.com.au dion s bus service 1 is an australian bus company operating services in wollongong . contents 1 history 2 services 3 fleet 4 references 5 external links history edit dion s bus service was founded in 1923 when thomas dion commenced operating a service from wollongong to balgownie followed by a service to bellambi . 2 3 it is currently the oldest operating bus operator in the illawarra . 4 5 from december 1927 until 1931 a coach service was operated to sydney . in january 1928 it commenced operating route 1 services from wollongong to austinmer along with five other operators . in august 1929 barney dion commenced operating a service from wollongong to kiama . 3 in the late 1940s the balgownie and bellambi routes were sold . by 1964 through a number of acquisitions the austinmer service was operated jointly by dion s and jim hill . in december 1976 dion s became the sole operator of the service and in the same year selling the kiama service to john j hill at the same time . 3 on 24 february 1992 route 4 wollongong to bulli was purchased from john j hill . 2 6 services edit since 2008 dion s services have been part of sydney outer metropolitan bus region 9 . 7 they operate 5 routes in the northern and central suburbs of wollongong 8 1 fairy meadow corrimal woonona bulli thirroul and austinmer including friday and saturday nights only hassle free bus service between wollongong and thirroul via princes highway . 1u austinmer to university via princes highway 4 fairy meadow corrimal woonona east woonona and bulli . 4u bulli to university via princes highway east woonona and corrimal . 9 uow ng shuttle free loop service between north wollongong station to wollongong university via kids uni urac creative arts building and hope theatre . 9 a number of community and government stakeholders funded dion s wollongong summer bus a late night bus service run in central wollongong during the summer months . the summer bus was a drink drive and drink walk prevention strategy supported by licensed venues as well as local government health police and transport authorities . 10 it no longer operates since route 1 now operates for extended hours on friday and saturday nights . 11 fleet edit as at may 2014 the fleet comprised 18 buses . 12 the fleet livery was blue and white until 1989 when a metallic grey blue and black livery was introduced . in 2010 the transport for new south wales white and blue livery was adopted . in the 1950s and 1960s dion s built their own bodies on second hand leyland comet truck chassis . in 1989 dion s purchased two hinos these were the first new buses in over 40 years . 3 13 references edit seapost pty ltd australian securities & investments commission a b new south wales bus operators and fleet listings . sydney historic commercial vehicle association . 1993 . p. 16 . a b c d history dion s bus service at 85 and going strong les dion keeps on bussing boat seat published 9 april 2005 retrieved 7 december 2014 passengers ride with dions legend illawarra mercury 2 december 2013 routes timetables and services fleetline issue 210 january 1993 page 15 outer metropolitan sydney bus contract regions 9 and 10 nsw government transport & infrastructure october 2009 dion s timetables dion s bus service free shuttle buses university of wollongong wollongong thirroul nightbus archived 19 july 2013 wollongong thirroul nightbus retrieved 6 january 2015 dion s bus service australian bus fleet lists dion s bus service fleetline issue 177 april 1990 page 61 external links edit company website win news report on the 90th anniversary of dion s v t e public transport in regional new south wales train intercity blue mountains central coast & newcastle hunter south coast southern highlands regional north coast north western southern western bus services blue mountains central coast illawarra newcastle nsw trainlink bus & coach services operators blue mountains transit busways coastal liner dion s bus service hunter valley buses newcastle buses & ferries port stephens coaches premier illawarra red bus services rover coaches ferry services newcastle to stockton operators newcastle buses & ferries light rail newcastle light rail proposed ticketing opal independent pricing & regulatory tribunal government transport for new south wales roads & maritime services sydney outer metropolitan bus system contracts taxi taxis in new south wales cabcharge retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title dion % 27s bus service & oldid 641345983 categories bus companies of new south waleswollongong1923 establishments in australiahidden categories use dmy dates from october 2014use australian english from october 2014all wikipedia articles written in australian english navigation menu personal tools not logged 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