This month our featured bus route is Route 450 operated by Punchbowl Bus Company. It runs between Strathfield and Hurstville via Roselands, Lakemba and Beverley Hills.
Route 450 started out life as Route 34 between Burwood and Bankstown at an unknown date in the early 1920s. By October 1926 it was rerouted to operate between Burwood to Hurstville. It ceased as it was competitive with Government railway or tram services under State Transport (Co- ordination) Act on 31 October 1931, however was later relicensed as a feeder for the Enfield to Hurstville section of the route on 31 December 1931. By 1946 the route had been extended to Strathfield Station. Upon the opening of Roselands shopping centre in October 1965, the route began diverting by there.
Its operation changed hands few times over the period as route 34. Initially it was operated by All-Gold Bus Service, which by the late 1940s was trading as Red & White Bus Service. Operations transferred to Red Top Transport Service by December 1948. Cumberland Coaches took over the service on 1 July 1977. Canterbury Bus Lines took over from 31 August 1983.
On 12 October 1995 Route 34 became Route 450 in the Sydney Region Route Number System. The service was later transferred to Punchbowl Bus Co on 20 April 1998. Beginning on 27 August 2007, peak hour trips were extended from Strathfield to Olympic Park. As a result of Ministry of Transport review of Region 5 coming into effect on 22 March 2010, off peak and weekend trips that did not travel to Olympic Park were extended from Strathfield to Burwood, alongside other route changes. From 5 June 2016 the extension to Olympic Park was cut and from 26 November 2017 the extension to Burwood was cut.
Today Route 450 takes around 50 minutes to operate end to end. Half hourly service is provided between 6am and 9pm on weekdays, with hourly service on weekends. The service is operated out of the two Punchbowl Bus Company depots in Riverwood.
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