Original constituent companies

Controlling shareholders

Wellington investment group Morrison and Co.^[32] had become a 41% shareholder by 2005.^[33]

In 2007, Direct Capital bought 87% of Go Bus. The other 13% remained with Go Bus managers and directors.^[34] Go Bus then had 410 vehicles, 4 workshops, 8 depots^[32] and 460 staff.^[35] By 2010, it had 650 buses and over 700 staff.^[36] From 2007 to 2012, Go Bus more than doubled its fleet and increased its staff to 950. Direct put Go Bus up for sale, saying it needed more capital to continue expanding.^[34]

In 2012, another private equity fund, Australia's Next Capital, bought Direct's 86.8% of Go Bus^[34] for $84.6m.^[37]

In 2014, Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corp (⅔) and Tainui Group Holdings (⅓) bought Go Bus for a reported $170m.^[38]

In 2020, Ngāi Tahu Holdings and Tainui Group Holdings agreed to sell passenger transport company Go Bus to Melbourne-based industry operator Kinetic.^[2] The sale was finalised in August 2020.^[39]

Expansion

Some growth has been by acquisition of bus companies (see below), some by winning new contracts. Among the latter have been –

• 2009 contract for Napier and Hastings, renewed in 2015 after a 60% growth in passengers.^[40]
• 2009 Tauranga $7.5m ($3m less than previous operator, Bayline Coaches) 5½ year contract with Environment Bay of Plenty Bay. Bayline had run 25 buses daily, but the new service used 35 buses and 42 staff, with depots in Tauranga, Mt Maunganui and Te Puke.^[41]
• 2013 won Gisborne contract by cutting the $320,000 a year Waipawa Red Bus service to $217,776 (plus $5,000 for cycle racks in the first year),^[42] with two air-conditioned 27-seat 'GizzyBuses' and a reduced timetable.^[43] GoBus also tendered for large buses at $225,941 a year.^[42]
• 2015 won 8 bus Gisborne school contract from Waipawa.^[44]

Christchurch Bus Services

Christchurch Bus Services Ltd operated Metro routes for Environment Canterbury in Christchurch and Timaru, as well as private charter services for groups and schools. It was purchased in December 2010 by Go Bus.

During a surprise New Zealand police investigation where the police without notice ordered buses to be inspected physically and mechanically whilst driving as per normal found 62 buses out of the 114 buses inspected in the Christchurch surprise sting operation had defects requiring repair. Out of the 62 buses found defective, 28 were ordered off the road and pink-stickered meaning significant failure was imminent when operating the bus; the vehicle was not permitted for driving on public roads. The remaining 34 were ordered out of passenger service but were still considered road worthy.

The 28 pink-stickered buses windscreens had a pink sticker adhered to the windscreen by police inspectors and legally must be inspected by a vehicle inspector during a certificate of fitness before removal, after receiving a certificate of road worthiness. Some of the severe faults included bald tires, loose steering, and major fuel leaks. Most of these defective buses inspected were under operation from Christchurch Bus Services Ltd, with the minority being from Red Bus LTD and the Urban Cat services. The minority had no pink-stickered vehicles. The amount of buses taken off the road from Christchurch Bus Services violated the contract terms with Environment Canterbury for not being able to operate the services adequately and in a safe manner, with all contracted buses requiring a certificate of fitness at all times of operation. Christchurch Bus Services Ltd was given an ultimatum to sell the company to a different provider or risk losing their contracts. Christchurch Bus Services LTD in Late November 2010 was forced to sell their business to Go Bus.^[45][46]

Urban Cat

In July 2013, Go Bus Transport took over the 'Urban Cat' Christchurch urban bus operations of Leopard Coachlines, gaining around 90 buses.^[56]

Hawarden Garage

Based in Kaiapoi, Hawarden Garage & Transport Co Ltd was bought at the end of 2013.

Invercargill Passenger Transport

In April 2014, Go Bus took over Invercargill Passenger Transport, which at that time was trading as Passenger Transport Citibus throughout the southern South Island.

Johnston's Coachlines

In August 2016, Go Bus announced that they had acquired Johnston's Coachlines for an undisclosed sum^[57] from TR Group Limited.^[58] Johnston's is a tourism-based bus company with depots in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown. The main purpose of the acquisition was the company's experience in the high-end tour market. It was stated that the companies will operate in a parent-subsidiary manner, as Johnston's will retain its own brand and division. The purchase did not include Johnston's Gray Line tours.^[59]