Kinetic Group (stylised as K''I''NET''I''C; formerly known as AATS Group) is an Australian-based multinational bus company that wholly owns a number of bus operations in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, including the SkyBus business, which operates bus services to a number of airports in both countries. Through its 51%-owned subsidiary

Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead Group Limited is a Multinational corporation, multi-national transport group based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. While the majority of its operations are within Great Britain, it also operates services in Ireland, Australia, Singapo ...

based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Kinetic also operates buses and railway services in the United Kingdom,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and the U-Go Mobility joint venture in Sydney. Kinetic is majority owned by Canadian pension fund OPTrust and British infrastructure manager Foresight Group (who acquired Kinetic's previous co-owner Infrastructure Capital Group in 2022).

History

AATS started in 2014 as a consortium that included Catalyst Direct Capital Management and OPTrust Private Markets Group to purchase SkyBus. Michael Sewards and Adam Begg were the founders and became the co-CEOs of the company. AATS purchased Transit Australia Group (TAG) in April 2019, including bus companies Sunbus and Surfside Buslines. It was rebranded the Kinetic Group in August 2019, and remains the parent company of SkyBus and TAG. In the same month, OPTrust began to seek a co-investor in Kinetic Group, who would hold a minority share in the group. Kinetic acquired

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

bus and coach charter company Telfords Bus & Coach in November 2019, followed by

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

bus operator

Love's Bus Service Love's Bus Service was an Australian school bus service, operating in Cairns. In 2022 It was re-branded and dissolved into Sunbus Cairns, one of Kinetic Group's (parent company) Bus companies. History Love's Bus Service was established in 19 ...

Queensland in January 2020. In March 2020, it was announced that Kinetic would buy GoBus with 1,700 buses, subject to approval by the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office. Approval was given in June and the acquisition was completed in August 2020. In December 2020, Campbell's Coaches,

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

was acquired. In February 2021, Kinetic announced it had agreed terms to purchase Greyhound Australia's resources business Greyhound Resources that provides mine transport for workers in the Bowen Basin, Hunter Valley,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

with 170 vehicles. The deal was expected to close in April 2021. This has since been rebranded as Kinetic Resources. In April 2021, it was announced that Redline Coaches of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

would be acquired. Following OPTrust's 2019 announcement of seeking a co-investor, Infrastructure Capital Group acquired a 49% shareholding in Kinetic in October 2021. On 31 January 2022, Kinetic Melbourne took over the routes operated by Transdev Melbourne, with 531 buses, under a contract which runs until June 2031. In February 2022, Kinetic acquired Sainty's North East Bus Service, with vehicles and drivers joining Kinetic's Redline Coaches business. In March 2022, Kinetic announced its acquisition of

NZ Bus NZ Bus was a New Zealand bus company, operating in Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington. Originally a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group, and formerly Infratil and Next Capital, as of 2022 it is owned and operated by Kinetic Group. It was merged with ...

, which operates in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and is one of New Zealand's biggest urban bus operators, with 800 buses and 14 depots. In the same month, Kinetic also announced the acquisition of Mersey Bus & Coach Services (Merseylink), the largest private operator in Tasmania which operates 51 general and school bus services in Devonport and north-west Tasmania. In June 2022, in partnership with

Globalvia Globalvia (stylised as globalvia) is a Spanish multinational transport infrastructure company that operates in 11 countries across three continents. In June 2022, Globalvia in partnership with Kinetic Group launched a takeover bid for the Britis ...

, Kinetic's offer to purchase the

was recommended for acceptance by its board. The sale was approved by Go-Ahead's shareholders in August 2022. Kinetic has a 51% shareholding. In November 2022, Kinetic began operating a new depot at

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, offering school route and charter services, general charter and event services. In late 2022, four of Kinetic's subsidiaries, Sunbus (including

Queensland), Surfside Buslines, Telfords Bus & Coach and Redline Coaches, were rebranded to Kinetic. In late 2024, Kinetic announced that it would shut down its Sydney charter operation as it "wasn't sustainable", attributing to a significant 50% rental increase of the depot in Turella. The operation ceased when the depot lease expired in November that year. Kinetic continued to operate buses in Sydney via its U-Go Mobility subsidiary.

Operations

Below is Kinetic's current and former bus companies that it operates:

Australia

Kinetic has an extensive presence in Australia operating in almost every state and territory from commuter services to charter and coach services.

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

*Greyhound Resources. Following the acquisition and re-brand of Greyhound Resources, Kinetic provides bus services for the mining and resources sector.

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

With the rebranding of several former subsidiaries in 2022, Kinetic operates an extensive commuter transport service throughout the state in the following regions: *

Bundaberg Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...

(formerly Duffy's City Buses) *

(formerly

and Sunbus Cairns) * Gold Coast (formerly Surfside Buslines) * Mackay (formerly Mackay Transit Coaches) * Magnetic Island (formerly Sunbus Magnetic Island) *

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

(formerly Sunbus Rockhampton) * Sunshine Coast (formerly

Sunbus Sunshine Coast Kinetic Sunshine Coast, formerly Sunbus Sunshine Coast, is a bus operator on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Operating services under contract to Translink, it is a subsidiary of Kinetic. History In 1995, Harry Blundred, the prop ...

) *

(formerly Sunbus Townsville)

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

* Tweed Coast (commuter service) * U-Go Mobility (commuter service in Sydney, via its subsidiary

)

Victoria

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

(commuter service under the brand name Kinetic Melbourne) * Skybus (airport transfers)

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

* Merseylink (Operates a commuter bus service in Devonport) * O'Driscoll Coaches (Operates a Charter/commuter bus service in Derwent Valley) * School and charter service throughout the state

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

* Kinetic Resources (Kinetic provides bus services for the mining and resources sector) * Coach and school service

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

* NZBus (commuter services in

and

) * Go Bus (commuter and transport services in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, Gisborne,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

and

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

.) * Johnston's (tour and charter service)

Other countries

Through its 51% shareholding in

, Kinetic also operates buses in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Ireland, and railway services in the United Kingdom, Norway and Germany.

Former operations

Queensland ''(Love's Bus Service Queensland, Sun Bus and Surfside Buslines were dissolved and re-branded as Kinetic in late 2022)'' *Campbell's Coaches *

Queensland * Sunbus ** Sunbus Cairns **Sunbus Magnetic Island ** Sunbus Rockhampton **

** Sunbus Townsville * Surfside Buslines *Duffy's City Buses – Bundaberg New South Wales ''(Telfords Bus & Coach as well as Surfside Buslines were dissolved and re-branded as Kinetic in late 2022)'' * Surfside Buslines * Telfords Bus & Coach *Kinetic Sydney (coach and charter service) – ceased in 2024 Tasmania ''(Redline Coaches was being dissolved and re-branded as Kinetic from late 2022)'' * Redline Coaches

References

Kinetic boosts presence in Tasmania with O’Driscoll Coaches acquisition
Intelligent Transport. from the original on September 19, 2023,

External links

Official website
{{Kinetic Group 2014 establishments in Australia Australian companies established in 2014 Transport companies established in 2014 Companies based in Melbourne Holding companies of Australia Kinetic Group companies Bus companies of Queensland