 | |
 Irizar bodiedIveco Delta in Melbourne, October 2024 | |
| Formerly | AATS Group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bus transportation |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Michael Sewards (co-CEO) Adam Begg (co-CEO) |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Australia Germany New Zealand Norway Singapore United Kingdom |
| Parent | OPTrust (51%) Foresight Group (49%) |
| Subsidiaries | See below Go-Ahead Group (51%) |
| Website | wearekinetic.com |
Kinetic Group (stylised as KINETIC; formerly known as AATS Group) is an Australian-based multinational bus company that wholly owns a number of bus operations inAustralia andNew Zealand, including theSkyBus business, which operates bus services to a number of airports in both countries. Through its 51%-owned subsidiaryGo-Ahead Group based in theUnited Kingdom, Kinetic also operates buses and railway services in the United Kingdom,Singapore,Germany,Ireland andNorway, and theU-Go Mobility joint venture in Sydney.
Kinetic is majority owned by Canadian pension fundOPTrust and British infrastructure managerForesight Group (who acquired Kinetic's previous co-owner Infrastructure Capital Group in 2022).[1]
AATS started in 2014 as a consortium that included Catalyst Direct Capital Management andOPTrust Private Markets Group to purchaseSkyBus.[2][3] Michael Sewards and Adam Begg were the founders and became the co-CEOs of the company.[4]
AATS purchasedTransit Australia Group (TAG) in April 2019, including bus companiesSunbus andSurfside Buslines.[5][6] It was rebranded the Kinetic Group in August 2019, and remains the parent company of SkyBus and TAG.[7][8] In the same month, OPTrust began to seek a co-investor in Kinetic Group, who would hold a minority share in the group.[9]
Kinetic acquiredSydney bus and coach charter companyTelfords Bus & Coach in November 2019,[10][11] followed byCairns bus operatorLove's Bus Service Queensland in January 2020.[12][13]
In March 2020, it was announced that Kinetic would buyGoBus with 1,700 buses, subject to approval by the New ZealandOverseas Investment Office.[14] Approval was given in June and the acquisition was completed in August 2020.[15][16]
In December 2020, Campbell's Coaches,Townsville was acquired.[17][18] In February 2021, Kinetic announced it had agreed terms to purchaseGreyhound Australia's resources business Greyhound Resources that provides mine transport for workers in theBowen Basin,Hunter Valley,South Australia andNorthern Territory with 170 vehicles.[19] The deal was expected to close in April 2021.[20][21] This has since been rebranded as Kinetic Resources.[22]
In April 2021, it was announced thatRedline Coaches ofTasmania would be acquired.[23]
Following OPTrust's 2019 announcement of seeking a co-investor, Infrastructure Capital Group acquired a 49% shareholding in Kinetic in October 2021.[24][25]
On 31 January 2022,Kinetic Melbourne took over the routes operated byTransdev Melbourne, with 531 buses, under a contract which runs until June 2031.[26][27] In February 2022, Kinetic acquired Sainty's North East Bus Service, with vehicles and drivers joining Kinetic's Redline Coaches business.[28]
In March 2022, Kinetic announced its acquisition ofNZ Bus, which operates inAuckland,Tauranga andWellington and is one of New Zealand's biggest urban bus operators, with 800 buses and 14 depots.[29] 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 inDevonport and north-west Tasmania.[30] In June 2022, in partnership withGlobalvia, Kinetic's offer to purchase theGo-Ahead Group was recommended for acceptance by its board.[31][32][33] The sale was approved by Go-Ahead's shareholders in August 2022.[34] Kinetic has a 51% shareholding.[35]
In November 2022, Kinetic began operating a new depot atHigh Wycombe inPerth,Western Australia, offering school route and charter services, general charter and event services.[22][36]
In late 2022, four of Kinetic's subsidiaries,Sunbus (includingLove's Bus Service Queensland),Surfside Buslines,Telfords Bus & Coach andRedline Coaches, were rebranded to Kinetic.[37][38][39][40]
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.[41] Kinetic continued to operate buses in Sydney via itsU-Go Mobility subsidiary.
Below is Kinetic's current and former bus companies that it operates:[42]
Kinetic has an extensive presence in Australia operating in almost every state and territory from commuter services to charter and coach services.
With the rebranding of several former subsidiaries in 2022, Kinetic operates an extensive commuter transport service throughout the state in the following regions:[44]
 | This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: All Tasmanian operations including Merseylink and O'Driscoll have been rebranded Kinetic. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2025) |
| This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Most NZ operations including NZBus and Go Bus (urban) have been rebranded Kinetic. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2025) |
Through its 51% shareholding inGo-Ahead Group, Kinetic also operates buses in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Ireland, and railway services in the United Kingdom, Norway and Germany.
Queensland
(Love's Bus Service Queensland, Sun Bus and Surfside Buslines were dissolved and re-branded as Kinetic in late 2022)[37][38]
New South Wales
(Telfords Bus & Coach as well as Surfside Buslines were dissolved and re-branded as Kinetic in late 2022)[39]
Tasmania
(Redline Coaches was being dissolved and re-branded as Kinetic from late 2022)[40]