First Union slams slack bus maintenance standards

Friday, 10 August 2018

A broom used to jam bus doors closed, steering column covers mended with duct tape, and poor headlights are among complaints First Union has fielded from Go Bus drivers in Waikato.

The union claims the complaints - which Go Bus says were all addressed and never compromised safety - highlight the importance of the Government enquiry into three recent bus crashes. 

The investigation announced on Thursday will look at whether bus standards are properly enforced and whether there were any common factors in the crashes, which all involved Mitsubishi Fuso vehicles, leaving two people dead and 52 injured.

First Union transport and logistics organiser Jax Oldham said her Waikato members regularly refused to drive Go Bus' older Chinese BCI buses because of maintenance problems that were a health and safety risk to themselves and passengers. 

**READ MORE:

* School bus crashes into ditch in Taranaki, killing driver

* Passengers say brakes failed on bus that rolled, killing a child, at Tongariro National Park

* Bus crashes in Manawatuū, 19 people injured

* Big jump in serious bus crashes**

Issues included head lights that were so dim drivers had to turn off interior lighting at night to see where they were going, forcing passengers to sit in darkness.

Broken seats and steering wheels made driving hard and sometimes painful for drivers, and faulty door seals and air conditioning resulted in 'Antarctic' temperatures.

When a faulty door kept opening, Oldham said the depot told the driver to prop it shut with a broom kept on board for cleaning, but he insisted on a replacement vehicle being delivered to complete the run. 

In an incident that occurred at Easter, a girl was trapped when doors closed on her, the driver was unable to open them using his control, and waiting passengers prised open the door manually to free her.

Oldham said the problems centred on about 20 old buses that Go Bus had inherited when it took over the Waikato contracts from Pavlovich Coachlines.

It appeared the company was doing minimal maintenance until newer were buses were introduced in December and the union now planned to lodge a complaint with WorkSafe.

Go Bus chief operating officer Nigel Piper said the maintenance issues were historical and had all been fixed. 

He was unaware of the incident involving the child, and said the use of the broom to keep the doors close was a 'crisis solution' that had been 'blown out of all proportion.'

'[The bus] was not in service and the fix was to wedge the door shut and it was taken straight back to the workshop to be repaired. There were no passengers on board.'

Piper admitted the older BCI buses were 'not as nice' as some of the company's newer MAN and Volvo vehicles, but complied with all New Zealand standards and underwent regular independent inspections. 

'We never compromise safety.'

Piper also welcomed the Government enquiry and said it appeared police had already stepped up roadside inspections, especially on Mt Ruapehu, the scene of a recent fatal bus crash. 

He said urban bus fleets tended to have newer buses and some of Go Bus' Auckland buses were less than six months old. 

Editor of the car review website dogandlemon.com Clive Matthew-Wilson described much of the New Zealand bus fleet as a 'disgrace,' with older buses lacking seat belts and electronic stability control to help prevent roll-overs in the event of a crash. 

New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) records show that in June 26,441 registered buses had current road use licences. About 40 per cent were less than nine years old, and a fifth were more than 18 years old. 

NZTA director of transport access and delivery Robert Brodnax​ said all passenger service and commercial vehicles has to pass a certification of fitness (CoF) inspection every six months with checks carried out by independent inspectors at testing stations. 

'The law requires that any vehicle used to transport passengers must be up to CoF standard every day, and for every journey. 

'Police and vehicle inspectors cannot be everywhere all the time, and operators have a clear legal responsibility to maintain their vehicles to required standards and ensure that they are roadworthy at all times,' Brodnax said.