The story
Benders Busways was formed by Ernest and Aimee Bender in 1926, and was established for 75 years, until their son Norman Bender eventually took over the business.
The first route ran from Geelong to Chilwell, and the second route commenced in 1931, from the Geelong Post Office to the corner of Minerva Road and Aberdeen Street in Geelong West.
The closure of the Geelong tram system in 1956 saw Benders win the contract to serve the former tram routes with buses. Eighteen new buses were purchased to run the increased number of services.
In 1987, Benders purchased IJ Cook & Son. In June 2000 the Bender family sold Benders Busways to the Kefford Corporation. In February 2009 the Kefford Corporation was sold to ComfortDelGro Cabcharge (CDC), with the sale including Benders Busways for A$149 million. At the time Kefford was the fourth-largest bus operator in Victoria, with a fleet of 328 buses and six depots, and with a market share of 16%. On 14 July 2014, CDC announced that Benders Busways would be re-branded as CDC Geelong.
On 1 July 2022, CDC Geelong's Regional Bus Services Contract to operate bus services was renewed for 10 years. It would also be subject to new performance measures and service standards, consistent with the bus services in Melbourne.
From Wikipedia’s article on CDC Geelong, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3