A new $15 million bus depot in Noosaville has officially opened, expanding capacity across Kinetic’s Sunshine Coast bus network as passenger growth accelerates across the region.
The purpose-built facility on Production Street has capacity for 32 buses and more than 80 staff. It has been designed to lift operational efficiency and improve reliability at a time when bus patronage on the Sunshine Coast has risen 20 per cent in the past 12 months.
Kinetic Group CEO Michael Sewards says the investment directly responds to rising demand.
“We’re seeing more people choosing buses on the Sunshine Coast than ever before, and that trend is only going to accelerate,” he says.
“Affordable fares, better infrastructure and growing communities are all driving passenger demand, and this depot is part of our investment into the Sunshine Coast to make sure the network can keep up.
“It gives us the infrastructure to run more reliable services now, and the capacity to scale as the network grows.”
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Kinetic operates more than 100 buses across 30 routes on the Coast in partnership with Translink. The new depot strengthens coverage in the Noosa area, where congestion can impact running times and service consistency.
Kinetic managing director Australia Matthew Campbell says the location would support faster operational responses.
“The Noosaville Depot allows us to respond more quickly to network requirements in the Noosa area, where high traffic volumes often cause delays, improving service reliability for passengers across the northern Sunshine Coast,” he says.
“With 20 per cent more passengers on our services this year, having the right infrastructure in the right locations matters more than ever.
“This depot puts us in a stronger position to support the growing demand we’re seeing right across the Coast, and as new communities and developments take shape across the region, having infrastructure like this already in place means we’re ready to extend services where they’re needed.”
Beyond operational performance, the facility is expected to cut more than 400,000 kilometres of non-service travel each year. That reduction translates to an estimated 502 tonnes less CO2 annually and savings of more than 176,000 litres of diesel fuel.
The depot has also been built electric-ready, with charging gantry infrastructure and electrical transformers already installed to support future zero-emission buses. The design aligns with recent depot developments in Melbourne and Auckland and reflects Kinetic’s approach of future-proofing new facilities for fleet transition.
The investment comes as the Sunshine Coast enters a significant growth phase. The region’s population is forecast to exceed 640,000 by 2046, with major projects underway including The Wave transport corridor, housing expansion and infrastructure upgrades ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Sewards says buses would play a central role in that next phase of development.
“As The Wave comes online, the bus network will be critical to connecting communities to rail, increasing service frequency, and making sure passengers can move seamlessly across the Sunshine Coast,” he says.
“We’re committed to working alongside the Queensland government to deliver an effective, true multi-modal public transport network, with bus and rail services working together seamlessly.
“Investments like the Noosaville Depot make sure we have the operational capacity to support that vision.”
The Noosaville Depot follows earlier upgrades to Kinetic’s Caloundra facility in 2022, which supported the introduction of 11 zero-emission buses, and marks the operator’s latest step in reinforcing the Sunshine Coast bus network ahead of a decade of population and infrastructure growth.
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