The last ever passenger to ride the very last bus (Route 65) to Woden Interchange before it was demolished was local bus-spotter Kyle Hanley. It was a historic moment for Kyle, who has been bus spotting since he was 13.
Since then, he has accumulated 2,000 pieces of bus memorabilia and a 35-foot, 10-tonne Mercedes bus (his old school bus from Newcastle NSW).
“I made sure that I caught the last ever bus that ran through Woden interchange and I was the last ever tap-off with my MyWay card,” Kyle says.
“The interchange lasted 50 years and one month and that was it. It was a very nostalgic feeling. I think the driver was feeling very much the same. They’ve got next stop announcements that played inside the bus along the route and when it said ‘next stop Woden Interchange’ that really hit us then. That’s the last time it’ll ever say that.”
Kyle’s friends are accustomed to him stopping mid-sentence to desert them and chase/photograph a historic bus driving by.
There are about 450 buses in Canberra and Kyle knows almost every fleet number and route. His job? Kyle designs bus timetables and maps for a graphic design company.
“We’ve still got about 20 old blue-and-orange buses left. The old Renaults first went into service in 1987, the oldest one’s still going today from 1991,” Kyle says.
“They’re being replaced one-for-one with new buses and 12 have already been replaced with electric. The last 20 will be gotten rid-of mid-year. I’d like to be there if I can to catch the last one.”
On a weekend, Kyle takes his own collectable Mercedes bus (fleet number 2619 for those playing at home) for a Sunday spin. In his shed are rows of old bus stop signage and old timber bus stop pegs that Canberra used to have. On his bed lies a custom-made doona cover sporting Canberra’s bus routes. Fleet dreams.
If you want to try your hand at bus-spotting to find Canberra bus routes visit: transport.act.gov.au
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