New standards for urban buses have been described as "craziness" by the Otago Regional Council, which fears it could lose funding if it wants to keep its higher standards.
The New Zealand Transport Agency has completed a new national standard for urban buses, ignoring much of the Otago Regional Council's objection to a common mandatory national standard.
Council chairman Stephen Woodhead said at a recent policy and submissions committee meeting the new standards would require the council to get exemptions for the high standard it set for Dunedin buses.
"It's silly. Our standards are better."
The council required buses to be no more than 15 years old (the standard says 19 years old) and the council's seat spacing requirement is greater than the narrower provision in the standard.
There are also two bus services that are not wheelchair accessible because of their routes.
"To have to have younger buses approved is just craziness.
"I'm disappointed they did not listen to what are practical outcomes for this community."
The possibility the standard "could drag us down to a lower standard" did not seem right.
Cr Bryan Scott said instead of dragging the council down, it would mean it would have to go through a bureaucratic process to enable it to retain higher standards.
Policy and resource planning director Fraser McRae said the new standard shifted regulations from being guidelines to being mandatory.
To deviate from that would require approval from the transport agency.
What that would involve was not yet known.
Chief executive Graeme Martin said the council needed to anticipate there could be a chance the council's subsidy for bus services would reduce if it was granted exemptions.
It would mean that when bus contracts came up for renewal, such as the Palmerston service which was due this year, the new standards would apply unless an exemption was granted.
An eight-day survey of contracted bus services was undertaken in July showing bus punctuality was 97%, up from 85% last year, and there were good ratings for cleanliness and driver courtesy.
Cr Michael Deaker said at a finance and corporate committee meeting last week it was a "stunning" result and the contractor and its drivers should be congratulated.
