Transit Systems Victoria, formerly Sita Buslines, is a bus and coach operator in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. It is a subsidiary of

Transit Systems Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group. History ...

and operates 18

bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

under contract to Public Transport Victoria.

History

Sita bus in Ascot Vale Road on route 472, 2012

In 1966, Frank Bono and George Sita purchased route 406 Footscray -

East Keilor Keilor East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Brimbank and Moonee Valley local government areas. Keilor East recorded a population of 15,078 at the ...

. In 1968, Sita sold his share to Frank Bono. In January 1972, Sita purchased Grangers Bus Lines, which operated route 472

Moonee Ponds Junction Moonee Ponds Junction is a bus and tram interchange on the junction of Ascot Vale Road / Pascoe Vale Road and Mount Alexander Road in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne (Puckle Street / Dean Street also meets at the same point). It is located approximately ...

- Williamstown Beach. Subsequently purchased were Murrays Coaches in 1975, Nidis in 1979, West Newport Bus Service in November 1980, Sunshine Bus Lines in April 1982 and Starline Coaches in 1985."Victorian Buses in the Eighties" ''

Australian Bus Panorama The Bus & Coach Society of Victoria (BCSV) is a bus preservation society in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the seco ...

'' issue 6/2 September 1990 page 13 Sita commenced coach operations in 1982, initially with second hand Denning vehicles, before building up a large Austral Tourmaster fleet after 1984. In 1995, Sita purchased the Coachtrans coach operation on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

and commenced operations in Sydney. The latter operation has since ceased. On 1 July 2018, Sita commenced a new ten-year performance-based contract to operate its bus services. In April 2019, Sita was purchased by

, and was re-branded Transit Systems Victoria in November 2020.Sita Buslines rebrand complete: Transit Systems Victoria
''

Australasian Bus & Coach Are Media is an Australian media company that was formed after the 2020 purchase of the assets of Bauer Media Australia, which had in turn acquired the assets of Pacific Magazines, AP Magazines and Australian Consolidated Press during the 201 ...

'' 9 November 2020

Fleet

As at December 2022, the Transit Systems fleet consisted of 166 buses and coaches. Sita's bus livery was white at the top and fawn at the bottom with an orange stripe. A special orange, white and black livery was used on buses dedicated to the 401 shuttle from North Melbourne station to

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

via the

Royal Melbourne Hospital The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), located in Parkville, Victoria, an inner suburb of Melbourne, is one of Australia's leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research. Th ...

. Coaches wore a red, yellow and white livery, but are now painted white.

References

External links

Company websitePublic Transport Victoria timetables
{{Transit Systems Bus companies of Victoria (Australia) Bus transport in Melbourne Transport companies established in 1972 Australian companies established in 1972