Kinetic announces expansion of northern Tasmania operation through acquisition of Crawn Motors in Burnie
Kinetic, the largest private transport operator in Tasmania, has announced an agreement to acquire family operated bus company Crawn Motors in Burnie, strengthening its operations in northern Tasmania.
The acquisition will see Kinetic offer employment to team members across two depots and become the custodians of 19 government-contracted school bus services with a fleet of 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, said he was 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,” Mr Sewards said.
“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.”
Kinetic also operates in Hobart and Launceston, and provides intercity services, with its network in Tasmania including 264 buses and 272 people.
Executive General Manager for Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, Graham Smith, said that Kinetic’s operations are an integral part to keeping Tasmania connected.
“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,” said Mr Smith.
“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.”
Reflecting on Crawn’s contribution to the Burnie community, Royce Crawn said he felt comfortable knowing that these services and their people would be 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,” said Mr Crawn.
“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.
Further enquiries
Emmanuelle Brizuela
Specialist - Communications
0460 615 604
emmanuelle.brizuela@wearekinetic.com