Duffy’s City Buses acquired by Kinetic Transport

Duffy’s City Buses has been acquired by Melbourne company Kinetic Transport. Here’s what commuters can expect.

Melbourne company Kinetic Transport has acquired Duffy’s City Buses following the death of company patriarch Gerard ‘Paul’ Duffy earlier this year.

Mr Duffy passed away peacefully in Bundaberg on February 27, 2022, at the age of 77.

His grandfather Tom Duffy started the business in 1954 and Mr Duffy was involved in the bus company until his final day. 

With 23 buses and 25 employees, family-owned Duffy’s holds government contracts to deliver important urban and school bus services in the Wide Bay region.

Chris Duffy will remain in the business as managing director.

The move will see Kinetic expand its partnership with the Queensland Government, now operating contracted urban and school bus services in Bundaberg, Mackay, Townsville, Magnetic Island, Rockhampton, Cairns, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast.

Kinetic also operates charter bus services across the state and specialist workforce transportation services supporting the mining and resources sector.

Paul Duffy and his wife Lyn at Duffy's City Buses, Bundaberg.

Kinetic is the largest bus operator in Australia and New Zealand and the region’s biggest owner and operator of battery electric buses (BEBs).

By the end of this year, Kinetic is expected to have 100 BEBs in operation, including 20 in Queensland across the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Cairns.

In January, Kinetic also commenced a new $2.3 billion contract to operate a third of Melbourne’s bus network in partnership with the Victorian Government.

Kinetic Co-CEO Michael Sewards said Kinetic is strongly committed to regional Queensland.

“Chris Duffy and family have built a business with a strong reputation and history operating in the community and we are completely aligned on our customer-first approach,” he said.

“We congratulate Chris and welcome the Duffy’s team into the Kinetic family as we offer our full support in their ongoing delivery of exceptional passenger outcomes for Bundaberg and the Wide Bay-Burnett region.”

Duffy’s managing director Chris Duffy said the company’s important role in moving the people of Bundaberg would be “business as usual” as part of Kinetic.

“Duffy’s has a proud history in Bundaberg and Kinetic’s commitment to the communities in which it operates was important to us,” he said.

“They are well known across regional Queensland and we are excited for this next step in our long history and continuing to connect the people of Bundaberg.”

This acquisition will see Kinetic grow to almost 4000 buses and 6000 people across Australia and New Zealand.