| Type | Private Bus Operator |
|---|---|
| Genre | Public Transport — Bus |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
| Website | http://www.skybus.com.au |
The Skybus Shuttle is an Australian airport bus service that runs between Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine and Southern Cross Station in the city of Melbourne. In 2008, Skybus carried over 1.6 million passengers a year.[1]
Skybus commenced operations on 6 June 1978, running a shuttle service between Melbourne Airport and the city. On 2 August 1982, Skybus took over the airport bus services run by the now-defunct airlines Ansett and TAA.[2]
Until 6 November 2000, the Skybus headquarters and terminus was at a coach depot in Franklin Street. It would pick up passengers at the then Spencer Street Station (now Southern Cross Station) and various city hotels before continuing on to the airport. In November 2000, Skybus relocated to Spencer Street and drove directly between there and the airport, cutting the journey time to 20 minutes and allowing more services to be introduced. Minibuses were introduced to continue the hotel transfer/pickup service.[3]
In 2002, the Victorian government opted to contribute $3 million to a $10 million plan to expand and improve Skybus services, after a feasibility study into a city to airport rail link found the number of passengers using a train would make the scheme economically unviable. The initiative funded the purchase of new high-tech buses, and improvements to the Tullamarine Freeway, to give Skybus vehicles priority in traffic.[4]
On 27 August 2008 their contract was extended by 5 years, which was not put to tender. In 2008 patronage grew by 17 per cent over the previous year, to 1.6 million passengers a year. The State Government is still negotiating to integrate Skybus ticketing with Melbourne's integrated public transport ticketing system, Metcard.[1]