Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group.

History

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Lance Francis, Graham Leishman and Neil Smith together operated Bayside Buslines in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Peninsula Bus Lines on the New South Wales Central Coast and Sunliner Express on the east coast. Graham Leishman previously also operated a bus company with his father in 1971. After Sunliner Express collapsed in 1991, all were either sold or liquidated. In 1995, Francis, Leishman and Smith won the Midland bus contract in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

in 1995 and founded Swan Transit, the first business unit of Transit Systems. The Midland operations commenced on 21 January 1996, and was the first time since 1962 that an urban service bus in Perth was operated by a privately-owned operator. Swan Transit was awarded four other contracts within the next two years, and a fifth one in 2002. In 2000, the

Adelaide Metro Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is an intermodal system offering an integrated network of bus, tram, and train service throughout the metropolitan area. The network has an ann ...

East-West bus contract was awarded to Transit Systems, the first bus contract outside of Perth, and operations started in April 2000, operating as

Torrens Transit Torrens Transit is an Australian bus service operator in Adelaide. It operates some services as part of the Adelaide Metro network under contract to the Government of South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems, which is a part of the ...

. In April 2005, Torrens Transit commenced operating the North–South and Outer North East contracts. In 2011, the East–West bus contract was renewed, but the North–South and Outer North East contracts were lost to Light-City Buses. Transit Systems entered the ferry market by acquiring Bay Islands Transit (BITS) and Big Red Cat in 2005 and 2007 respectively, both in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. In 2011, the Gladstone Ferries operation commenced, transporting workers to Curtis Island to support the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant on the island. In the same year, Stradbroke ferries was acquired, and the Big Red Cat operation was merged into it. In November 2012, Transit Systems was awarded its first bus contract in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, region 3 of the Sydney Metropolitan Bus System Contracts, in

Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

. Operations commenced in October 2013, operating as

Transit Systems NSW Transit Systems NSW, previously known as Transit Systems Sydney, is a bus operator in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems. History In November 2012, Transit Systems was awarded a contract by Transport for ...

. In June 2013, Transit Systems first ventured overseas with the purchase of

First London First London was a bus company operating services in east and west Greater London, England. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and operated buses under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in the late 1990s through the acquisition o ...

's garages and operations in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, operating as

Tower Transit A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

. Adam Leishman, the son of Transit Systems co-founder Graham Leishman and the Business Development Director for Transit Systems, relocated to London to become the CEO of Tower Transit. Tower Transit was then awarded a bus contract to operate 26 routes in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

in May 2015, and took over operations from the incumbent operators between May and June 2016. In October 2014, Transit Systems took over the Darwin Bus Service operation, operating as Territory Transit. In January 2015, Swan Transit commenced 10-year contracts to operate services in Bunbury and Busselton under the

TransBunbury TransBunbury is the public bus transportation system in Bunbury, Western Australia, consisting of 10 public routes as well as 30 school routes.

and TransBusselton brands. In November 2015, Transit Systems sold all of its marine operations to SeaLink Travel Group, which includes: *Bay Islands Transit (BITS) ferry operationBay Islands Transit Overview
Transit Systems * Gladstone FerriesGladstone Ferries Overview
Transit Systems *Stradbroke ferries operation American on-demand transport company Bridj was brought over and the first Bridj on-demand service in Australia commenced in December 2017. In June 2018, Torrens Transit acquired Light-City Buses, regaining the North South & Outer North East bus contracts which Torrens Strait previously lost in 2011. In July 2018, Transit Systems NSW commenced operating bus and on-demand services in region 6 of the Sydney Metropolitan Bus System Contracts in Sydney's Inner West. In October 2018, Tower Transit's CEO Adam Leishman left the company and set up his own transport company Ascendal Group, and the Go Whippet operations were transferred to the newly formed company. His position was not replaced and Tower Transit operations were overseen by Paul Cox as CFO and Charlie Beaumont as COO. In April 2019, Transit Systems entered into the Melbourne bus market for the first time by acquiring Sita Buslines. It was rebranded Transit Systems Victoria in November 2020. In October 2019, it was announced that the company would be purchased by the SeaLink Travel Group. As part of the deal, the CEO of Transit Systems, Clint Feuerherdt, became CEO of SeaLink. Feuerherdt and Transit Systems co-founder and chairman Neil Smith took up a combined 18% shareholding in Sealink. The sale was completed in January 2020. Sealink would later rename as Kelsian in November 2021. In July 2020, Transit Systems operated trams for the first time, with the Torrens Connect joint venture commencing Adelaide's North–South contract including the

Glenelg tram line The Glenelg tram line is a tram/ light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic. The service is free in the city centre and a ...

. In December 2022, Transit Systems had its first bus operation in Queensland, after acquiring North Stradbroke Island Bus Service, .

Current Australian operations

Transit Systems Group' business units in Australia are: * Swan Transit bus operation in

*Territory Transit school bus operation in

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

bus operation in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

** Torrens Connect bus and tram operation in Adelaide (since 2020) *

bus operation in Sydney * Bridj on-demand services in Sydney * Transit Systems Victoria in Melbourne *North Stradbroke Island Bus Service in

North Stradbroke Island North Stradbroke Island ( Jandai: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''Straddie'' or ''North Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, southeast of the centre of Brisbane. Originally there was onl ...

, Queensland

Swan Transit

Swan Transit is a bus operator in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Founded in 1995, it was the first business unit of Transit Systems to be created. In its first four years, Swan Transit was awarded five bus contracts in

and they commenced operations between 1996 and 1998. Swan Transit later acquired other contracts in Perth as well, with all of its contracts operating under the

Transperth Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system serving the city and suburban areas of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation. Train op ...

brand. Swan Transit also commenced 10-year contracts to operate services in Bunbury and Busselton under the

TransBunbury TransBunbury is the public bus transportation system in Bunbury, Western Australia, consisting of 10 public routes as well as 30 school routes.

and TransBusselton brands in January 2015.

Territory Transit

Territory Transit is a school bus operator in

with a fleet of 10 school buses, transporting nearly 850 students to six schools. Territory Transit began operating these school bus services in February 2021. Between October 2014 and June 2022, Territory Transit was also one of the two bus operators in Darwin, constituting part of the Darwinbus bus network, with other operator being Buslink. Territory Transit took over the government-owned Darwin Bus Service operation in October 2014, after Transit Systems successfully tendered the contract in July that year. In 2022, the

Northern Territory Government The Government of the Northern Territory of Australia, also referred to as the Northern Territory Government, is the Australian territorial democratic administrative authority of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory wa ...

combined the contract with the Buslink contract to create an expanded contract, which Territory Transit attempted to bid for in a competitive tender. In May 2022, Territory Transit announced it was unsuccessful in its bid, and its Darwinbus services were taken over by CDC Northern Territory (renamed from Buslink) on 1 July 2022.

Torrens Transit and Torrens Connect

is a bus operator in

. It first founded in 2000 when it commenced operating the

East-West contract under contract to the Government of South Australia, which was renewed in July 2011. In April 2005, Torrens Transit commenced operating the North–South and Outer North East contracts, but these contracts later passed to Light-City Buses in October 2011. Due to continuous poor performance by Light-City Buses, eight of their routes were stripped off and were returned to Torrens Transit in April 2013. In June 2018, Torrens Transit acquired the Light-City Buses business and integrated it into the Torrens Transit brand. In July 2020, Torrens Transit began operating the

through its joint venture Torrens Connect.

Transit Systems NSW

is a bus operator in south western Sydney, operating region 3 of the Sydney Metropolitan Bus System Contracts. It commenced operations in October 2013, taking over services from the incumbent operators. In July 2018, Transit Systems took over the operation of region 6 in the Inner West from State Transit on an eight-year contract.

Bridj

Transit Systems acquired on-demand transport company Bridj in October 2017 following the cessation of its operations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

earlier that year. Bridj started operations in Sydney with the Wetherill Park demand service in December 2017, followed by the Inner West demand service in July 2018. In August 2018, it also took over the Eastern Suburbs demand service from Transdev's RIDE Plus, while the Wetherill Park service ceased operations. Transit Systems plans to introduce more Bridj on-demand services into other Australian cities as well as

Transit Systems Victoria

Transit Systems Victoria is a bus and coach operator in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

's western suburbs, formed following the acquisition of Sita Bus Lines in April 2019, with rebranding of the former business formally taking place in November 2020. This purchase marked Transit System's entry into the Victorian bus market.

Overseas operations

Tower Transit Group, Transit Systems Group' overseas subsidiary, operates these business units: * RATP Dev Transit London bus operation in

, England, as part of a joint venture with

RATP Dev RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator respon ...

Tower Transit Singapore Tower Transit Singapore is a contracted bus operator operating in Singapore. It commenced operations on 29 May 2016 and it is a subsidiary of Transit Systems. History In October 2014, the Land Transport Authority called for tenders to operate 2 ...

bus operations in

Tower Transit Singapore

is a bus operator in Singapore, operating 57 routes out of Bulim Bus Depot and

Mandai Bus Depot Mandai Depot ( Malay: Depot Mandai; Chinese: 万礼车厂) is an integrated train and bus depot located in Mandai, Singapore. The train depot serves as the maintenance and control centre of the Thomson-East Coast line while the bus depot is us ...

as part of the Bulim bus package and the Sembawang–Yishun bus package respectively. The contract for the Bulim package was first awarded in May 2015, taking over the bus operations from incumbent operators SBS Transit and SMRT Buses between May and June 2016. In September 2020, Tower Transit Singapore was re-awarded the Bulim bus package, including 3 bus services operated by SMRT Buses. It also secured the Sembawang–Yishun bus package which consisted of 26 bus services operated by SMRT Buses and 1 service already operated by Tower Transit. Tower Transit Singapore took over the 3 Bulim services and 26 Sembawang–Yishun bus services from SMRT Buses in May and September 2021 respectively.

RATP Dev Transit London

Transit Systems holds 12.5% of RATP Dev Transit London, a joint venture with

, operating buses in West London. The joint venture, formed on 11 December 2021, consisted of

's West London bus operations (including London United and

London Sovereign London Sovereign is a bus company in North London. It is a subsidiary of RATP Dev Transit London and operates buses under contract to Transport for London. Company history London Sovereign can trace its roots back to independent Borehamwood ...

) and

's (a subsidiary of Transit Systems) Westbourne Park garage.

Former operations

Ferry operations

Transit Systems formerly had three ferry operations in

until they were sold to SeaLink Travel Group. They were reunited when Sealink purchased Transit Systems in January 2020, but the ferry operations remain operationally separate from Transit Systems.

Bay Islands Transit (BITS)

Bay Islands Transit (BITS), is one of Transit Systems' ferry operations in

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

. It operates services between Redland Bay and the Macleay, Lamb, Karragarra and Russell Islands in Southern Moreton Bay. BITS operated ferry services since 1982. In 2005, it was acquired by Transit Systems and sold to SeaLink Travel Group in November 2015, along with Gladstone Ferries and Stradbroke Ferries.

Gladstone Ferries

Gladstone Ferries is a passenger and vehicular ferry operation in

Gladstone, Queensland Gladstone () is a coastal city in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. Gladstone has an urban population of 34,703, and together with Boyne Island and Tannum Sands, had an estimated population of 50,317 at August 2021. This urban area c ...

, transporting workers to Curtis Island to support the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant on the island. The operation started in February 2011, following the award of two contracts for the ferry services. It was sold to SeaLink Travel Group in November 2015, along with BITS and Stradbroke Ferries.

Stradbroke Ferries

Stradbroke Ferries is the other of Transit Systems' ferry operations in

. It was founded by Frank Dobias and Geoff Ford in 1963. Stradbroke Ferries was acquired by Transit Systems in 2011. Prior to this, Transit Systems also owned the Big Red Cat ferry operation, acquired in 2007. The Big Red Cat operation merged with the Stradbroke Ferries operation after the acquisition of the latter. It was sold to SeaLink Travel Group in November 2015, along with BITS and Gladstone Ferries.

Go Whippet

Go Whippet, is a bus operation in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

, England. It was purchased by Transit Systems Group in November 2014. The bus operation was transferred to Ascendal Group in October 2018.

Tower Transit

was Transit System's subsidiary and operation in London. It was established when Transit Systems purchased some of

's operations and garages in June 2013. After Tower Transit's Westboune Park garage became incorporated into RATP Dev Transit London in December 2021, the only remaining Tower Transit operation in London was the Lea Interchange garage in East London. This operation was announced to be sold to

Stagecoach London Stagecoach London is a major bus operator in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach and operates services under contract to Transport for London mostly in East and South East London as well as some services into Central London. It i ...

in May 2022 and was finalised on 25 June 2022.

References

{{Transit Systems, state=collapsed Bus companies of Australia Companies based in Brisbane Ferry companies of Queensland Kelsian Group Transport companies established in 1995 1995 establishments in Australia