New Top Metro Bus

SYDNEY is to get its first giant buses next year, with "super metro" vehicles to be introduced as part of a $12 million trial.

The Government flagged the proposal during the state election campaign earlier this year, saying the buses would be introduced by December.

"It has slipped in terms of the timing and delivery," the Opposition Leader, Barry O'Farrell, said yesterday. "This is a re-announcement of what the Government announced in February."

The new buses will be able to carry up to 115 people, most of whom are expected to stand, with limited seating likely to be available.

The super-buses will carry twice as many passengers as a standard bus and significantly more than the 85 people the present generation of "bendy" buses can carry. The length of the buses will be similar to B-double trucks, which are banned from the city's centre.

The Transport Minister, John Watkins, said super-buses are used in Europe and the US and ease congestion by taking cars off the road. Initially, the Government plans to test five buses with different seating arrangements to see which model best suits the city.

The new buses will operate from next year on a new service linking Leichhardt and Kingsford, via the city centre. Tenders for the buses are to be called next month.

Metro Bus
Metro Bus
Metro Bus
Metro Bus
Metro Bus