Purple buses off the road

Four "Remuera Rider" purple buses have been withdrawn from service after they failed a manoeuvrability test.

The Stagecoach buses were taken off the new service after a month because they failed a Land Transport Safety Authority requirement that they should be able to turn 360 degrees in a 25m circle.

The authority's acting regional manager, Brian McSwigan, said yesterday that the buses should not have been certified by one of its agents.

"The certificates of fitness have been revoked. They have been withdrawn from service until the manufacturer can supply a satisfactory fix.

"The reason for this requirement is so they can actually get around the streets, particularly in the city.

"It's not a safety issue as such. It is a manoeuvrability issue."

Mr McSwigan said the authority would address the fact that one of its agents had certified the buses.

Stagecoach's marketing manager, Russell Turnbull, said replacement buses would run on the Glen Innes to downtown service along with three smaller buses not affected by the requirement.

He said Stagecoach had bought 35 of the new 51-seater 3-axled MAN buses, nine of which would have to be recertified. As the remaining buses came off the New Zealand assembly line they would be modified with a new part from Germany.

Mr Turnbull said patronage had risen nearly 30 per cent since the new service, running at a frequency of 15 minutes, started on October 16.

* The original version of this story carried a photo of a 42-seat Designline bus. This is not the type of bus that has been removed from service because of manoeuvrability problems.