Volvo B10BLE (Hillsbus)

NOTE: THIS THREAD NO LONGER HAS INFORMATION REGARDING THE BUSSES THAT WERE TRANSFERRED TO REGION 14 WHEN CDC AQUIRED THE CONTRACT.

Instead, the fleet numbers of the 17 transferred busses are listed in the "Trivia" section of this page.

Note: This bus is not to be confused with the State Transit/Transit Systems counterpart which has an APG Orana Body. The Hillsbus has a Custom Coaches CB60 Evo 1 body.

The Volvo B10BLE is a model of semi low-floor bus chassis made by Volvo.

## Fleet Numbers

The Volvo B10BLEs can be found at every Hillsbus depot except Foundry Rd (Hartley Rd, Northmead and Dural). There are a total of 11 buses operating with Hillsbus. The Hartley Rd buses have plate numbers M/O 1057, 1441, 1480, 8270 and 8465. Dural busses have plate numbers M/O 1085, 1086 and 1088 while the Northmead buses have plate numbers M/O 1060, 8470 and 8471.

Specifications

The Hillsbus version has an aluminium Custom Coaches CB60 Evo 1 body. The B10BLE has a 9.6 litre diesel engine and produces 245 brake horsepower at Euro 2 emission standards. The buses have a total capacity of 64 people, 49 seated and 15 standing along with 2 wheelchair spaces. The buses have 1 double leaf door at the front.

There are actually 2 variants of this bus operating. Buses with plate numbers M/O 1480, 8465, 8270, 8470 and 8471 have a different body to the other buses. Both buses have the same capacity but the buses with a different body have flush edge windows, no rear window and tinted windows, features normally found on the Volvo B7RLE (Custom CB60 Evo 1) which makes sense because they have the same body. Inside, the different body buses have aluminium plating for the walls and small stop bell lights that display the word "stopping". There are 2 of them and they are double sided. One next to the driver's cab and one where the steps to the upper deck are.

The other variant has the older style CB60 body with rounded windows which are easier to replace than flush ones. The older style ones have more comfortable bench seating and a rear window. Their windows are not tinted. The stop light is a round light which illuminates with the words "BUS Stopping" when activated.

There are 2 different liveries for this bus model. As of October 2021, buses with plate numbers M/O 1061, 1086, 1088, 1441 and 8465 are painted in the Hillsbus Canary Yellow livery while others have been repainted into the Transport for NSW livery.

All buses have a Denso ACU.

## Accidents and Incidents

On the 7th of April 2022, the driver of M/O 1442, probably on a Route 705 run, suffered a medical episode and lost control of the bus, which slammed into a concrete pillar at Seven Hills Interchange. The driver was trapped and taken to Westmead Hospital, along with an elderly passenger who got a broken hip from sitting in the priority seat, which doesn't have a barrier on these buses, resulting in the passenger being flung forwards.

The bus has been scrapped, due to the whole windscreen being shattered and the roof being split.

## Trivia

* When CDC aquired region 12/14 in 2023, a large number of Region 4's B10BLE CB60s were transferred to Mt Ku-Ring-Gai depot. They had plate numbers M/O 100-1458, 8334-8344, 8682, 8634 and 8635.
* To clear up the confusion that may have been caused, all B10BLEs in service with Hillsbus are in a CB60 Evo 1 body, but there are 2 different types. The type with flush windows and no rear window are the newer type while the type with rounded windows and a rear window are the older type.
* The buses mostly have an unusual triangular patterned moquette which is dark but refurbished buses have the newer moquette which is blue. On the refurbished buses, red moquette is used on the flip seats and priority seats.
* These buses have only a few stop bells, meaning that you may have to stand up to press one while the bus is moving. There are also a lack of poles for standing passengers to hold on to, resulting in these buses being relegated to low-patronage services like Hillsbus route 603.
* Both variants of this bus have the exhaust pipe on top of the bus, at the rear on the left side. They may either have a cylindrical shaped one or a funnel shaped one.
* Along with the Volvo B7RLE (Custom Coaches CB60 Evo 1), the newer body buses have an irritating beep sound when the driver activates their indicators.
* The older version only has green flipdot destination blinds on the front while the newer version has them on both the front and rear.
* Although the newer version has the same body as the Volvo B7RLE (Custom Coaches CB60 Evo 1), they have the bench seats of the older version of the B10BLE instead. This helps provide additional comfort to seated passengers.
* Due to the tinted windows of the newer version, the newer version body appears a lot darker inside.