KEY POINTS:
Auckland buses have been given a makeover to make them look more attractive.
The transition started after the sale of Stagecoach in December 2005 and it is hoped all buses will be painted and renamed by the middle of next year.
Central Auckland buses now operate under the Link name, and the Stagecoach white exterior with blue, red and orange stripes has been replaced by a light green base and yellow graphics.
West Auckland buses are labelled Go West, and are dark green and white with purple and yellow illustrations of kowhai, pohutukawa, tui, gecko and a pond bird.
The pictures represent the surrounding Waitakere Ranges and wildlife and the green palette was chosen to emphasise the area as an "eco city".
The North Shore and Hibiscus Coast buses now run under the North Star name and are blue and yellow.
Illustrations depict Rangitoto Island and the hibiscus flower as North Shore icons, with the beach and other attractions.
Staff operating the various service have been given new uniforms.
Stagecoach was bought by infrastructure investment company Infratil in 2005.
Infratil's public transport operations operate under the name NZ Bus.
"Since then we've introduced what we call community brands into the Auckland market," said NZ Bus spokeswoman Siobhan Donovan.
"North Star is about people north of the Harbour Bridge and Go West is about Waitakere City, serving those communities."
Meanwhile tighter controls that Parliament is considering for public transport operators stop short of giving regional councils the power to dictate the colours of buses or ferries.
The Public Transport Management Bill, as reported back to Parliament, proposes new controls over commercial bus and ferry services - and not only those which are given subsidies from regional ratepayers and the Government.
The transport and industrial relations select committee has chosen what it calls "middle ground" between existing arrangements and a push by the Auckland Regional Council and its transport authority to operate all bus and ferry services under contract, as happens with Auckland rail.
If the new controls become law, the transport authority in Auckland and regional councils elsewhere will be able to:
* Set performance standards for all urban services.
* Set and apportion "integrated fares" between rival transport operators so passengers can use common tickets for various parts of their journeys.
* Require services to be registered as group packages.
* Set minimum operating periods of up to 12 months for non-subsidised services.
* Extend from 21 days to 90 a minimum notice period for operators to withdraw from unprofitable routes, to lessen the need for last-minute subsidy bailouts by regional councils, as has happened in Auckland.
But although a majority of MPs on the select committee accepted that the use of common emblems or designs was desirable to promote integrated services, they did not believe councils should be able to tell operators what colours to paint their buses or ferries.
That means NZ Bus can continue painting its former Stagecoach fleets.
The committee has also proposed more controls than initially prescribed to protect the confidentiality of sensitive information that councils will be able to prise from commercial operators for planning purposes, including patronage and revenue figures.
Labour members on the committee favoured giving the Auckland transport authority full contracting control over buses and ferry, but were outvoted.
They issued a minority report saying that although the bill had significant improvements for many regions, they believed giving the authority overall control would have been highly desirable in light of clear evidence "that Auckland needs the tools to fix a system that is groaning at the seams due to a growing demand from the public".
National MPs also issued a minority report, saying: "This bill imposes too much bureaucratic burden on public transport services, and shifts the balance of power in contract negotiations too far in favour of regionalcouncils.
NZ Bus director Tim Brown said the company's initial assessment was that the bill was "guaranteed to please no one".
Transport authority spokeswoman Sharon Hunter called it "a step in the right direction" but said Auckland's city and district councils were united in believing it needed strengthening to allow her organisation to secure better and most cost-effective bus services.
"We look to central government to take account of these local views when Parliament considers the measure further," she said.
"Recognition of the need for a wider contracting procurement choice by Labour MPs on the select committee is encouraging."
TRAVEL TINTS
* Link (central Auckland): Light green.
* Go West (Waitakere): Dark green and white with coloured illustrations.
* North Star (North Shore and Hibiscus Coast): Blue and yellow with pictures.
