Novel bus to go up for sale

Alan McLay says his double-decker bus was good for public relations while he was mayor. Photo by...
Alan McLay says his double-decker bus was good for public relations while he was mayor. Photo by Sally Rae.
Alan McLay and his big red bus have been a familiar sight around North Otago since he bought the distinctive vehicle seven years ago.

The double-decker Bristol bus has been used to transport everyone from rest-home residents to school pupils to various functions around the district.

"When I was [Waitaki district] mayor , it was good PR in the most bizarre sort of way," he said.

But now Mr McLay is no longer mayor - beaten by Alex Familton in 2007 - and it is time to "turn the page" and put the bus on the market.

It was during his first year as Waitaki mayor when his wife Christine threw the Otago Daily Times on the bed at 6am one Saturday and he saw a "little ad" for the double-decker.

He was heading to Dunedin that day and thought he would have a look at it.

When he called the contact number, he discovered the bus was in Wanaka.

So he did some business in Dunedin and then "scorched" off to Wanaka as he had a function in Oamaru that night.

He drove it a short distance and then rang the next day and said he would buy it.

Mr McLay said he had many "funny stories" to tell about the bus which had attracted widespread interest.

People did not expect a mayor to be driving a bus.

One self-confessed English "bus nut" went for a ride in the bus before submitting an article to a UK bus magazine about it.

Next thing, Mr McLay received an email from the UK from a man who had just read the magazine and "couldn't believe it" for there was the old bus which he used to drive.

He and his wife were coming to New Zealand and he wanted to see the bus.

They went for a trip to Kakanui and around the coast and he was "just rapt".

His wife later emailed Mr McLay and said it was the highlight of the trip.

Just recently, some Romanian visitors chased him up the road asking when the next run was. He was on his way home so told them to jump on.

"They couldn't believe it," he said.

Christmas was a busy time for the bus and he was out six consecutive days before Christmas for various events.

Mr McLay said he and the bus had done a "lot of fun things" and it was satisfying to see guests having a good time.

Mechanically, the 1976 bus was in good order and, because it was a passenger service vehicle, it was "up-to-scratch".

He built a special shed to house it at his property.

He had never promoted the bus or built it up as a business and it was time to give somebody else an opportunity.

It would be nice if it was kept locally - "people have come to expect it around the place" - and he would miss it.

"If I was 30-ish, I'd have a ball with that bus . . the things you could do with it, the fun you could have," he said.

He estimated its value at between about $50,000-$55,000, plus GST, and he hoped it would attract some interest.

"There's got to be another me out there, surely," he said.

 

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