NZ Bus

Bus operator in New Zealand

NZ Bus

Logo used from 2005-2023

Formerly| Stagecoach New Zealand
Company type| Private
Industry| Public transport
Founded| October 1992
Founder| Stagecoach Group
Defunct| 2023
Owner| Kinetic Group
Website| www.wearekinetic.com

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 Kinetic's other NZ subsidiary, Go Bus Transport, in 2023 to create Kinetic Urban NZ.

## History

[edit]

DesignLine bodied trolleybus in the Go Wellington livery in Wellington

In October 1992 Stagecoach purchased Wellington City Transport (WCT), the largest bus-operator in Wellington, from Wellington City Council with 270 buses.[1][2] WCT had recently purchased the Auckland, Hutt Valley and north Wellington suburban bus operations of New Zealand Railways Road Services, then branded CityLine.

Stagecoach expanded its Auckland operations in 1998 by purchasing Transportation Auckland Corporation (trading as The Yellow Bus Company) from the Auckland Regional Council with 538 buses.[3][4][5]

in November 2005 Infratil purchased the business.[6][7] As part of the deal, Infratil had the right to use the "Stagecoach" name and livery for five years from the sale.[8][9]

In January 2008 the company bought Whangārei school and charter business Adams Travelines (later rebranded as NorthBus), which has since won the tender to provide the urban bus service for Whangārei as Citylink Whangarei, using super-low-floor buses. In May 2013 NorthBus was sold to Ritchies Transport.[10]

In April 2016 NZ Bus announced that it would repower several buses with Wrightspeed gas-turbine hybrid powertrains.[11] In February 2017 NZ Bus announced it would begin the trial of a BYD K9 electric bus in Auckland and Wellington.[12]

In 2018 NZ Bus planned to reduce the size of its Wellington operations from 73% to 28% of the city's bus routes following a re-tender; many bus-route services passed to Tranzit Group.[13]

In September 2019, Infratil sold NZ Bus to Australian equity buyers Next Capital for A$218–240 million, including a vendor loan of A$20–30 million.[14] At the time of the sale, NZ Bus operated 720 buses and had 1,400 staff.[15][16] In March 2022, the business was purchased by the Kinetic Group, and rebranded as Kinetic Urban NZ.[17]

### Company rebranding

[edit]

A MAN 17.223 in AT Metro livery in Auckland An Alexander Dennis Ltd Envrio 200 in InnerLink livery with Metrolink branding in Auckland A TāmakiLink wrapped MAN 17.223 in Auckland Former name  | Depots  | New name  | Notes

|
|
|

Stagecoach Auckland  | North Shore
Hibiscus Coast | North Star  | Rebranded on 4 December 2006.
Blue and yellow livery.
Swanson  | AT Metro | Rebranded in 2017, with the new Western Bus Network.
Blue and silver with AT Metro logo livery.
Auckland Central (City)
Mt Roskill
Panmure | Metrolink  | Rebranded on 12 October 2008.
Blue and silver and grey livery.
Auckland Central (City)  | Link Buses  | Red colour for City Link

Green colour for Inner Link

Orange colour for Outer Link

Blue colour for Tamaki Link

Wiri  | AT Metro | Rebranded on 16 February 2009.
Silver livery, with multi-coloured patterns influenced by traditional Maori designs.

Rebranded in 2016, with the new Southern Bus Network. Blue and silver with AT Metro logo livery.

Stagecoach Wellington  | Various  | Go Wellington | Announced in November 2006.
Operating since early 2007.
Yellow and black livery.

Rebranded from April 2018 as part of the new bus network for Metlink. Lime green blue and yellow with Metlink logo livery.

Cityline Hutt Valley  | Various  | Valley Flyer  | Rebranded on 21 November 2007.
Purple and yellow livery.

From late 2015, plans called for all buses operated by NZ Bus in Auckland to gradually begin to appear in AT Metro colours as part of Auckland Transport's initiative to create one brand for the Auckland transport network. Link services continued to operate in their red, green and orange branding,[18] but with AT Metro logos and other symbols instead of Metrolink. Similarly, Wellington buses operated under contract to the regional council are now branded in Metlink livery, rather than in GO Wellington or Valley Flyer livery.[19]

### Smart card ticketing

[edit]

On 20 April 2008 NZ Bus confirmed that it would start using a new ticketing system to make bus travel quicker, easier and simpler for passengers in Wellington.[citation needed] The new system, called Snapper, builds on RFID technology embedded in cards or in portable devices such as USB sticks. Use of the system started on 4 April 2008, being piloted on Go Wellington bus route 17 over the following two months. The supplier of the technology is Korea Smart Card (established in 2003), a joint venture between Seoul Metropolitan Government and LG Group, which has introduced T-money to six major cities in Korea.

NZ Bus fitted out its Auckland fleet with Snapper-capable equipment in 2011, despite losing a contract to provide smart-card ticketing to all public transport services in the Auckland Region.[20] NZ Bus went ahead with their Snapper roll-out in Auckland despite no other public transport providers signing up for it. Auckland Transport rolled out their own smart-card ticketing system, the AT HOP card. All public transport operators in Auckland, including NZ Bus, were required by law to accept smart cards issued by Auckland Transport. NZ Bus suggested that their Snapper system would be able to accommodate Auckland Transport's smart cards.[citation needed]

By late 2013, the use of Snapper had completely phased out in Auckland. In Wellington and Whangārei,[citation needed] Snapper is the interim region-wide bus ticketing system for the Metlink network in Wellington.[21]

## See also

[edit]

* Kinetic Group
* AT Metro
* AT Hop card
* Metlink
* Snapper card

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kiwi link Commercial Motor 22 October 1992 page 16
2. ^ New Zealand Fleetline issue 215 June 1993 page 128
3. ^ Stagecoach buys YBC Australasian Bus & Coach September 1998 page 56
4. ^ Stagecoach snaps up Yellow Bus Truck & Bus Transportation October 1998 page 89
5. ^ Auckland Transit Australia November 1998 page 259
6. ^ Disposal of New Zealand Operations Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Stagecoach 21 November 2005
7. ^ Stagecoach sells New Zealand unit Archived 20 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine BBC News 21 November 2005
8. ^ NZ operations go in £100m sell-off On Stage issue 61 January 2006 page 12
9. ^ Stagecaoch New Zealand Australian Bus Panorama issue 21/5 March 2006 pages 11–15
10. ^ Bocapa. "NZ Bus News". www.nzbus.co.nz. Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
11. ^ New Zealand Adopts Wrightspeed Jet And Battery Power For Buses Archived 25 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Forbes 2016-04-22, viewed 22 May 2016
12. ^ Bocapa. "NZ Bus News". www.nzbus.co.nz. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
13. ^ Infratil' NZ Bus concludes Wellington negotiations Archived 16 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine National Business Review 25 January 2018
14. ^ NZ Bus Archived 25 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine Next Capital
15. ^ "Infratil sells NZ Bus to private equity buyers". Stuff.co.nz. 24 December 2018. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
16. ^ World News Buses Worldwide issue 213 April 2019 page 62
17. ^ Cotter, Fabian (11 March 2022). "Kinetic to acquire NZ Bus Ltd". Australasian Bus & Coach. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
18. ^ "Link Bus Service". Retrieved 12 June 2024.
19. ^ George, Damian (6 April 2018). "From 'Wellington yellow' to 'vomitron green' – capital's new buses aren't everyone's cup of tea". The Dominion Post. Fairfax NZ. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
20. ^ "To enter Auckland market in 2010, targets Rugby World Cup for comprehensive integrated ticketing". Snapper. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
21. ^ "A summary of the upcoming changes to fares in the Greater Wellington Region". Snapper Services Ltd. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Company website
* Snapper ticketing system

* v
* t
* e

Bus transport in New Zealand

Urban bus companies|

* Bayes Coachlines
* InMotion Group
* Waiheke Bus Company
* Fullers Group
* Kinetic Group
* Go Bus Transport
* Go Bus Christchurch
* NZ Bus
* GO Wellington
* Red Bus
* Ritchies Transport
* Birkenhead Transport
* Ritchies-Murphy
* Reesby Buses
* SkyBus
* Transdev Australasia
* Howick & Eastern
* Mana Coach Services
* Newlands Coach Services
* Tranzit Group
* Pavlovich Coachlines
* Bayes Coachlines

Charter Operators|

* Coachways New Zealand
* Kiwi Coaches Mangere
* Broughman Buses Paerata

Long distance bus companies|

* InterCity
* ManaBus
* Nakedbus

Tourism bus companies|

* Great Sights & Newmans
* Kiwi Experience
* Nakedbus

Bus manufacturers|

* Coachwork International
* DesignLine International
* Hawke Coachwork
* Kiwi Bus Builders

Government & regulation|

* NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
* AT (Auckland)
* Bus Smart (Invercargill)
* BusIt (Hamilton)
* Citylink (New Plymouth)
* Metlink (Wellington)
* Metro (Christchurch)
* Orbus (Dunedin/Queenstown)

History|

* Invercargill Passenger Transport
* Mount Cook Group
* New Zealand Railways Road Services
* The Shuttle
* Stagecoach
* Trolleybuses in Auckland
* Trolleybuses in Dunedin
* Trolleybuses in Wellington

Infrastructure|

| Auckland|

* Central Connector
* Northern Busway
* Eastern Busway (under construction)
* Northwestern Busway (planned)

|

Christchurch|

* Christchurch Bus Exchange
* Christchurch Bus Interchange

Buses portal New Zealand portal

* v
* t
* e

Kinetic Group

Bus companies|

* Go Bus
* Kinetic Cairns
* Kinetic Melbourne
* Kinetic Gold Coast
* Kinetic Rockhampton
* Kinetic Sunshine Coast
* Kinetic Townsville
* Love's Bus Service
* NZ Bus
* Redline Coaches
* SkyBus
* Telfords Bus & Coach

Go-Ahead Group
(51%)|

* v
* t
* e

Go-Ahead Group

Shareholders|

* Kinetic Group (51%)
* Globalvia (49%)

Bus companies|

| UK|

* Brighton & Hove
* Metrobus
* Carousel Buses
* Dartline
* East Yorkshire
* Go-Ahead London
* Blue Triangle
* Docklands Buses
* London Central
* London General
* Go East Anglia
* Hedingham & Chambers
* Konectbus
* Go Cornwall Bus
* Go North East
* Go North West
* Go South Coast
* Bluestar
* Morebus
* Salisbury Reds
* Southern Vectis
* Swindon's Bus Company
* Unilink
* Oxford Bus Company
* Plymouth Citybus
* Thames Travel

|

Overseas|

* Go-Ahead Ireland
* Go-Ahead Singapore
* U-Go Mobility (50%)

Railway companies|

| UK|

* Govia Thameslink Railway (through 65% share in Govia)
* Gatwick Express
* Southern
* GTS Rail Operations

|

European|

* Go-Ahead Nordic

Former operations|

* Anglian Bus
* Aviance UK
* Plane Handling
* East Thames Buses
* Go-Ahead Germany
* Go West Midlands
* London Midland (65% Govia)
* London & South Eastern Railway (65% Govia)
* Meteor Parking
* Southdown PSV
* Thames Trains
* Thameslink (65% Govia)

Future operations|

* Connecting Stockholm

* v
* t
* e

Stagecoach Group

Key personnel|

* Brian Souter (Chairman)
* Ann Gloag (Founder)

Bus companies|

* Scottish Citylink (37%)
* Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire
* Stagecoach East
* Stagecoach East Midlands
* Bassetlaw
* Grimsby-Cleethorpes
* Hull
* Lincolnshire
* Mansfield
* Stagecoach East Scotland
* Stagecoach London
* East London
* Selkent
* Thameside
* Stagecoach Manchester
* Manchester
* Wigan
* Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire
* Merseyside
* Stagecoach Midlands
* Warwickshire
* Stagecoach North East
* Newcastle
* South Shields
* Sunderland
* Hartlepool
* Teesside
* Stagecoach North Scotland
* Bluebird
* Highlands
* Stagecoach South
* Stagecoach South East
* Stagecoach South Wales
* Stagecoach South West
* Stagecoach West
* Stagecoach West Scotland
* Stagecoach Yorkshire

Brands & Services|

* CAVForth
* Megabus (United Kingdom)
* Megatrain
* Oxford Tube
* Stagecoach Gold/Citylink Gold
* 1
* S3
* X4

Former operations|

| Coach USA|

*     * Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co.
* Community Coach
* Gray Line New York
* Olympia Trails
* Rockland Coaches
* Short Line Bus
* Suburban Transit
* Van Galder Bus Company
* Wisconsin Coach Lines
* Coach Canada
* Gray Line Montreal
* Megabus (North America)

|

* Citybus
* East Midlands Trains
* Fleet Buzz
* Gray Coach
* Island Line Trains
* Manchester Metrolink
* Magic Bus
* Megabus (Europe)
* Porterbrook
* South West Trains
* Stagecoach Australia
* Stagecoach Cambridgeshire
* Stagecoach in Darlington
* Stagecoach Kenya
* Stagecoach New Zealand
* Stagecoach North West
* Stagecoach in Norfolk
* Stagecoach In Oxfordshire
* Stagecoach in Preston
* Stagecoach Rail
* Stagecoach Supertram
* Swebus
* Ticketclever (20%)
* Trainline
* Virgin CrossCountry (49%)
* Virgin Trains East Coast (90%)
* Virgin Trains West Coast (49%)

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