LEFT IDLE BY BUS BLUE

LEFT IDLING BY BUS BLUE

Monday Telegraph Sydney Australia 25^th April 2011:By: Rhys Haynes (Transport Reporter)

Brand new public buses are sitting idle in depots while officials argue over the colour scheme of the vehicles.

The buses – worth about $500,000 each – remain off the road, while the industry urges Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian to immediately scrap the aqua blue and white colour scheme.

The blue and white livery ordered by former Opposition Leader John Robertson, was expected to last more than 20 years, with each bus to have a uniform colour scheme.

The design was intended for all public and privately-run buses on routes in Greater Sydney, Wollongong, the Central Coast and Newcastle.

About 30 vehicles have already been painted and controversial colours, but private operators are fighting to keep their own colour scheme.

And commuters will suffer, as orders for new buses are being delayed because of the paint dispute.

A government spokesman said its integrated transport authority would determine the ‘overall policy and timetable’ for the bus colour scheme.’

The Daily Telegraph last week saw five buses worth more than $2 million parked behind a shed at the Busways Glendenning depot.

Two buses were delivered before the before the state election, and the three others shortly after, but they are not being used because the colour scheme was rejected by the operator, according to an industry source.

That’s more than $2 million paid by the taxpayer just sitting there not being used because of the colour of the bus, the source said.

A Busways spokeswoman denied there was a dispute, saying the delay was caused by new technology being installed.

As it is school holidays these vehicles have not been required on the road, but it is envisaged that when school recommences they will be used on routes services, the spokeswoman said.

BusNSW, the peak industry body representing bus operators, said the paint scheme was a shambles and urged Ms Berejiklian to scrap the project.

We felt that this short-term knee-jerk reaction to advertise the [previous] government was half baked, and needed to be reversed, BusNSW executive director Darryl Mellish said.

We are very keen to try and get early clearance on this because operators and waiting on the decision to paint new vehicles.