Historic Gold Coast bus finds new home as Kinetic donates piece of Queensland transport heritage

Kinetic has donated a significant piece of Gold Coast transport history to the Queensland Omnibus & Coach Association (QOCA), with the restored bus set to make its public debut at Brisbane Transport Museum's first open day of 2026 this Saturday.

The 21-year-old Volvo B12BLE holds a special place in Queensland's transport story as the very first bus to feature a Bustech VST body.

After spending its entire working life on the Surfside network connecting Gold Coast communities through route services and school runs, the bus retired from Coomera depot and has now been lovingly restored to its original Surfside livery.

Kinetic Managing Director (Australia) Matthew Campbell said the donation represents an important chapter in Queensland's public transport heritage.

"When Surfside Buslines joined Kinetic in 2019, we inherited decades of local history and deep community connections, and this bus tells a unique story of the Calabro family's legacy in Queensland transport,” said Mr Campbell.

“Tony Calabro OAM and the late Joe Calabro OAM not only founded Bustech, the manufacturer of this pioneering VST body, but also acquired and grew Surfside Buslines from 1989, building it into part of Transit Australia Group.

“This bus represents both sides of that legacy: innovative Australian manufacturing and dedicated community service.

"We're honoured to see it join QOCA's collection, where it will continue to tell the story of public transport on the Gold Coast and the communities it served."

Both Tony Calabro and the late Joe Calabro were recognised with Medals of the Order of Australia this year for their services to the bus transport industry.

Mr Campbell thanked the Kinetic teams at Molendinar and Coomera workshops, along with Coastal Body Works, for their generous assistance in restoring the bus to the iconic look that generations of Gold Coast locals remember.

The restored bus, numbered 858, will be on display and providing joyrides at Brisbane Transport Museum's open day on Saturday 7 February from 1pm to 4pm.

Kinetic will also display several other unique vehicles from its fleet on the day.  

These include: 

• Bus 1109, the only Volvo B12M in the country, which was acquired from Singhs Bus Service. 
• Bus 400, the last bus ordered by the Calabros and the only Volvo B8RLE in the Surfside fleet. 
• Bus 823, an older generation Volvo B7RLE Bustech vehicle. 

The museum's open day will feature an "All Volvo" theme, with 858 joined by other Volvo buses from the QOCA collection for joyrides throughout the afternoon.

Museum entry is $20 and includes free joyrides. For more information, visit Queensland Omnibus & Coach Society Inc..