Second Stagecoach bus catches fire

A fireman checks the switchboard that caught fire in a Stagecoach bus on Karangahape Rd yesterday. Picture / Paul Estcourt

Stagecoach has moved to reassure passengers its vehicles are safe after two of its buses caught fire in separate incidents this week.

About 50 passengers were forced out of a bus yesterday when the driver noticed smoke coming from the front while driving along K'Rd.

The driver pulled over, got all his passengers off the bus then - with the assistance of a police officer who had also pulled over - put the small fire out with an extinguisher.

Ponsonby Station Officer Shane Olsen said the fire was out by the time firefighters arrived and there was minimal damage to the bus. He said the fire appeared to have started in the electrical switchboard at the front of the bus. The incident followed a more spectacular blaze on Tuesday when another Stagecoach bus was destroyed.

Firefighters said that fire had started in the engine compartment at the rear of the bus.

Stagecoach spokesman Russell Turnbull said the two fires were unrelated and described them as an "unhappy coincidence".

He said Stagecoach was aware that the public needed to have confidence in its buses and a team of electrical engineers would work to identify the cause of the switchboard fire.