Kinetic has announced a further expansion into northern Tasmania with the acquisition of the Burnie based family operator Crawn Motors.
Kinetic’s latest acquisition will see it expand its Tasmanian reach, with Kinetic offering employment to Crawn Motors staff across two depots.
The acquisition means Kinetic will become the custodians of 19 government-contracted school bus services and 29 buses.
Burnie is the third largest population hub in north-west Tasmania and the acquisition will increase Kinetic’s operational footprint in the region, enhancing services through to Wynyard and building the network which currently focuses on Devonport and surrounds.
Kinetic co-CEO Michael Sewards says he’s excited to welcome Crawn Motors to the Kinetic family and continue delivering important services to the community in Tasmania’s north-west.
“We’re thrilled to have the Crawn Motors team on-board and we look forward to expanding our commitment to Tasmania and our partnership with the Department of State Growth,” Sewards says.
“As we do this, we’d like to congratulate Royce Crawn on the business he has built and acknowledge the great work the Crawn team have done to date, and we will continue to provide industry leading services that are safe and reliable which have a positive social impact on the community in Burnie.”
Royce Crawn says, upon reflection of Crawn’s contribution to the Burne community, that he feels comfortable knowing that these services and people are in safe hands with Kinetic.
“Kinetic is a growing brand in Tasmania and is a respected private operator of public transport, and at the end of the day we know that this agreement is the right thing to do for our staff and our customers,” Crawn says.
“We’re really proud of the work we’ve done over the past 60 years for our local community, and we’re looking forward to continuing this commitment with a company that shares our community values and will continue to invest in improving these services for Burnie.”
The transfer of Crawn Motors to Kinetic is expected to complete soon and is subject to relevant approvals.
Kinetic also operates in Hobart and Launceston, and provides intercity services, with its network in Tasmania including 264 buses and 272 people.
Kinetic Tasmania, Victoria and NSW executive general manager Graham Smith says Kinetic’s operators play a vital role in connecting Tasmania.
“Buses are an essential part of Tasmania’s public transport network, and we’re a team of genuine and passionate people working in collaboration with government and community stakeholders to keep these networks moving,” Smith says.
“As the largest private operator in Tasmania, we have depots and fleet spanning across the major population centres in the state so locals know they can rely on us to get to where they need to go.”