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Sunbus Cairns

Sunbus Cairns, previously Marlin Coast Sunbus, was the principal bus operator in Cairns, Queensland that operated services under the Translink scheme in the Cairns region. It was one of Sunbus' operations. As of late 2022, Sunbus has changed its name as part of a business re-brand by the parent company, Kinetic. Sunbus was dissolved into the Kinetic brand with its fleet of buses reflecting this change.[1]

Sunbus Cairns
ParentKinetic Group
Founded1995
Defunct2022
HeadquartersSmithfield
Service areaCairns
Service typeBus operator
Routes16
HubsCairns City
Palm Cove
Smithfield Shopping Centre
Stockland Cairns
Westcourt
Stations1 (Cairns City bus station)
Depots1
Fleet51 (June 2013)
Websitewww.sunbus.com.au
https://www.wearekinetic.com/

History

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In 1995, Harry Blundred, the proprietor of Thames Transit in the United Kingdom, was awarded the operating rights to route services in Cairns by the Government of Queensland.[2] It initially was a joint venture with Beach Bus and West Cairns Bus Service, but Blundred took full control shortly after.[3]

As part of the deal, Sunbus was also responsible for the operation of school bus services in the region, however these were sold in 1997 to fellow British bus operator Stagecoach.[4][5]

In April 2008, Blundred sold Marlin Coast Sunbus along with the other Sunbus operations to Transit Australia Group.

In April 2019, Transit Australia Group was purchased by AATS Group, parent company of Skybus and majority owned by OPTrust.[6] In August 2019, AATS Group was rebranded the Kinetic Group.[7]

This is a separate operation to Love's Bus Service Cairns which is also owned by the Kinetic Group.

In late 2022, Sunbus was officially branded as KINETIC with all new advertising now showing the Kinetic Brand. All new buses will display the Kinetic logo with the current fleet of Sunbus slowly being updated to reflect the new brand name. The current website for Sunbus will stay active until early 2023 before it will be deactivated, directing customers to the new Kinetic website.

Service Area

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Sunbus operates from Palm Cove and Trinity Beach in the north, and as far south as Gordonvale and Edmonton. The area with the most coverage is along the Captain Cook Highway between Smithfield Shopping Centre and Cairns CBD.

Bus routes

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Fleet

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As of June 2013, the fleet consisted of 51 buses, primarily Bustech bodied Volvo B12BLEs, Bustech MDi and XDis.[8] The fleet livery is light blue.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Welcome to Sunbus - the leading regional Queensland bus operator". Sunbus. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Private Operators" Fleetline July 1995 page 130
  3. ^ "Transit Australia" Australian Bus Panorama issue 11/7 April 1996 page 48
  4. ^ "Private Operators" Australian Bus Panorama issue 13/1 August 1997 page 22
  5. ^ Buslink Australian Bus Fleet Lists
  6. ^ "Skybus Operator to Acquire Transit Australia Group - Bustech not Included". Australasian Bus & Coach. 2 April 2019. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Skybus parent relaunched as 'Kinetic'". Australasian Bus & Coach. 8 August 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  8. ^ Sunbus - Cairns Australian Bus Fleet Lists
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