Redline Coaches was

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

's largest

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

operator. It operated both route and charter services. As of late 2022, Redline coaches has changed its name as part of a business re-brand by the parent company,

Kinetic Kinetic (Ancient Greek: κίνησις “kinesis”, movement or to move) may refer to: * Kinetic theory of gases, Kinetic theory, describing a gas as particles in random motion * Kinetic energy, the energy of an object that it possesses due to i ...

, and has now been dissolved into the Kinetic brand with its fleet of buses reflecting this change.

History

Redline Coaches and the Larissey family business dates back to 1929 when Percy and Stella Larissey commenced trading as bus operators in Cressy Tasmania. 2. They were later joined by Percy's son Francis (Frank) to become P. Larissey & Son. The current company, Redline Coaches, was formed in July 1963 when Frank Larissey purchased Sutton's Motor Service, Launceston with four buses and renamed it Redline Coaches.Tasmanian Redline Coaches
Bus Australia"Tasmanian Redline Coaches" ''Australian Bus Panorama'' 7/9 June 1992 pages 5-7 In January 1965 Redline Coaches began operating ten-day tours of Tasmania connecting with the Empress of Australia at Bell Bay under contract to the Tasmanian Government Travel Bureau. Through a number of takeovers, Redline developed a network of services in north-east Tasmania. In 1975 the business of Young's Coaches was purchased and a contract picked up from Gippsland Educational Tours saw it conduct tours throughout mainland Australia. By this stage the fleet consisted of 19 vehicles. Further expansion came with it being appointed as a sub-contractor for

AAT Kings AAT Kings is an Australian and New Zealand coach tour operator offering both short and long distance tours. History AAT Kings history can be traced back to the 1920s when the Pyke family began a car hire business in Sydney. In the 1930s the ...

Ansett Pioneer Ansett Pioneer was an Australian long distance coach operator. Founded in 1905 as the AA Withers Bus Company, the company maintained continuous operation under a variety of corporate monikers until its 1993 merger into Greyhound Pioneer Australi ...

and

Australian Pacific Tours Australian Pacific Touring (APT) is an Australian tour and river cruising operator with worldwide reach. History Alfred William (Bill) McGeary was born in 1900 in Victoria. A fitter and turner by trade, McGeary bought, re-built and sold cars ...

. In May 1980 with Frank's son Michael now a part of the business Redline purchased the business of Tasmanian Coach Lines who operated stage services throughout the state. The sale included 17 vehicles. The combined operation was renamed Tasmanian Redline Coaches. In the next few years many other long-distance operators would be taken over with the fleet growing to 110 by 1992. Following the withdrawal of services by

Ansett Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into adminis ...

and

TAA Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), renamed Australian Airlines in 1986, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its merger with Qantas in September 1992. As a result of the "COBRA" (or Common Brand ...

in 1982, Tasmanian Redline commenced airport services in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

and Launceston."Tasmanian Redline Coaches - Part 2" ''Australian Bus Panorama'' 8/1 August 1992 pages 4-6 Tasmanian Redline also operated a freight business using a combination of luggage space on its coach services and dedicated vans. In September 1990 the long-distance market was deregulated and Hobart Coaches began competing on some of Tasmanian Redline's more profitable routes. In 2009 Redline acquired the business of Smith's City to Surf Coaches servicing the

Dodges Ferry Dodges Ferry is a rural / residential locality in the local government area (LGA) of Sorell in the South-east LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about south-east of the town of Sorell. The 2016 census recorded a population of 2467 for t ...

region. Redline was acquired by

Kinetic Group Kinetic Group (formerly known as AATS Group) is an Australian-based multinational bus company that wholly owns a number of bus operations in Australia and New Zealand, including the SkyBus business, which operates bus services to a number of a ...

in 2021, with the takeover announced in April 2021. In late 2022, Redline was officially branded as

KINETIC Kinetic (Ancient Greek: κίνησις “kinesis”, movement or to move) may refer to: * Kinetic theory of gases, Kinetic theory, describing a gas as particles in random motion * Kinetic energy, the energy of an object that it possesses due to i ...

with all new advertising now showing the Kinetic Brand. All new buses will display the Kinetic logo with the current fleet slowly being updated to reflect the new brand name.

Fleet

As at November 2022, the fleet consisted of 81 buses and coaches.

References

External links

Company website
{{Kinetic Group Bus companies of Tasmania Kinetic Group companies Australian companies established in 1963