Dunedin's commuter buses were declared to be of a high mechanical standard after a roadside audit similar to that which forced 28 buses off the road in Christchurch.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) yesterday confirmed just one bus had to leave the road for an immediate repair during the last "urban bus operation" in Dunedin.
That bus - one of 34 checked with the police Commercial Vehicle Inspection Unit (CVIU) - had a leaking fuel cap, NZTA Otago-Southland principal transport officer Dermot Harris said.
The check of in-service buses, carried out in September, found 26 were fault-free and seven had minor, predominantly lighting, faults which had to repaired within a specified time, Mr Harris said.
"Overall, the standard of mechanical safety on the buses was very high," Mr Harris said.
Citibus Newton general manager Tony Collins confirmed one of his fleet left the road for a minor repair, but the overall result showed Dunedin's bus fleet was "nothing like what has been discovered in Christchurch".
Late yesterday, NZPA reported a Christchurch bus company which had a number of buses ordered immediately off the road this week was given a deadline to sell its business by the end of the day or lose its Environment Canterbury (Ecan) contracts.
Police were staggered at the poor condition of some buses when a sting operation, prompted by public complaints, resulted in 28 being ordered immediately off the street.
The investigation by the CVIU, which inspected 114 urban buses from Tuesday to Thursday, also meant a further 34 buses were allowed to finish their run, but then had to be taken out of service for repair.
Sergeant Max Newman said one bus had no rear brake on one side, and two had no front brake on one side. He was "surprised at the level of the lack of maintenance".
He accepted there was some non-compliance with commercial vehicles, but the companies had all been in the industry for a long time and it should never have happened.
Ecan, which manages the Metro bus system, said most of the buses ordered off the road appeared to have been Christchurch Bus Services (CBS) vehicles, although Red Bus and Leopard Coachlines vehicles were also involved.
Ecan had become concerned recently about the service offered by CBS during protracted sale negotiations.
It gave the company a deadline of 5pm yesterday to complete the sale, or Ecan would withdraw its contracts.
In addition, Christchurch City Council-owned Red Bus had not been willing to negotiate with the other two companies to lease out its spare buses to ease a temporary shortage worsened by the recent earthquake, Ecan acting operations director Wayne Holton-Jeffreys said.
Leopard's order for 32 new buses had been delayed by damage at the Rolleston manufacturers because of the earthquake, and the company had hired 25 from North Island operators - all of which had accounted for its eight minor faults picked up in the sting, Leopard managing director Brent Early told NZPA.
