KEY POINTS:
Five buses used to transport hundreds of Northland school children have been ordered off the road for the second time this year after inspectors found a raft of problems, including unsafe brakes.
Police took the action on Monday after finding two of Otene Buses Ltd's fleet were unsafe. A further three failed to comply with regulations, including one with brake problems.
Schools in the Okaihau area are now considering finding another company to transport their children.
The problems surfaced in July when the police Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit revoked the certificate of fitness's on eight of the company's buses after finding rust, structural and mechanical faults.
CVIU team leader Sergeant Robert Haworth said police returned this week to check on the fleet and were surprised to find problems for a second time.
"Police checked the buses in July and did not expect to return to find the buses still in an unsafe condition. It is very concerning that the bus company failed in its responsibility of getting children to school safely."
Okaihau College principal Alan Forgie said he was stunned to learn the buses were once again off the road because of safety problems.
He said he had raised concerns about the safety of his students at a meeting with Otene Buses after the July incident.
An agreement was reached whereby the company would service its buses at a local firm rather than in-house, and he thought that would be the end of the problems.
Mr Forgie said the latest incident raised questions about the future of Otene Buses' contract to deliver students, and he would be investigating other options over the Christmas break.
Mr Forgie said the roads in the area were not the best so it was even more important the buses transporting students met all safety requirements.
Otene Buses manager Annette Rogers said she could understand if parents were concerned about safety, but the company was trying hard to ensure the buses were up to standard and improvements had been made since July.
She said one of the buses was failed this time because of a headlight, while another had chewing gum covering the emergency exit button so the door wouldn't open. In both cases she believed the problems had only just occurred. She also believed the brakes issues had just started.
Mrs Rogers said she would get drivers to give the buses an extra check each morning to try to prevent further problems, while regular mechanical checks at a local firm would hopefully detect other faults.
She said there was not much more the company could do.
Other buses from the company were being used to transport students while repairs are under way. The buses would remain off the road until the faults were fixed and new certificates granted.
