Australian Transit Enterprises
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Australian Transit Enterprises was an Australian operator of bus services in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
| Industry | Transport |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 1996 |
| Defunct | March 2015 |
| Headquarters | Fortitude Valley, Australia |
Area served | Brisbane Adelaide Murray Bridge Perth Kalgoorlie |
| Key people | Jonathon Cook (CEO) |
| Products | Public transport |
| Owner | Keolis Downer |
| Subsidiaries | Hornibrook Bus Lines LinkSA Path Transit SouthLink |
| Website | www.ate.com.au |
History
Australian Transit Enterprises (ATE) was founded in 1995 when Hornibrook Bus Lines proprietor Geoff Mountjoy formed a joint venture with Melbourne bus proprietors; Joe Pulitano, Grenda Corporation and Kefford Corporation.[1]
In January 1996 it commenced operating services in Perth under the Path Transit banner.[2] This was followed in April 2000 by a contract (Outer South) in Adelaide under the SouthLink banner.[3][4][5][6] At the same time, the Adelaide Hills operation contract was awarded to Transitplus, a joint venture between ATE with TransAdelaide. In April 2005 SouthLink was awarded an additional Adelaide contract (Outer North).[7][8] In 2010, ATE took full control of the operation of the Hills contract, under the SouthLink brand. In July 2011, SouthLink's existing contracts were renewed for eight years.[9][10][11]
It also operates the LinkSA coach business.
In 2012 Grenda Corporation sold its share in the business to the Mountjoy family.[12] Kefford Corporation had previously sold its share. In March 2015, Keolis Downer purchased the business.[13] As a result, ATE's subsidiaries were reorganised to be directly under the control of Keolis Downer.
Prior to the company's sale to Keolis Downer in March 2015, it had a total bus fleet of 930.