Ritchies branch manager Malcolm Budd said city commuters would be in line to benefit from the technology, which uses video cameras to pinpoint how bus drivers can improve their road skills.
Ritchies national training manager John Harvey, of Auckland, is in Dunedin this week to train a group of nine new drivers using the computer video system - the "only one of its kind in New Zealand".
The $90,000 technology is a portable system, which uses video cameras and sensors to observe drivers, as a GPS unit records the route driven and the acceleration, braking, and side-to-side movement of the bus, Mr Harvey said.
Cameras are attached to the wing mirrors to record the driver's rear views, while another camera is positioned on the driver, to watch where he is looking and also observe driving habits, he said.
The GPS and sensor motions simulate the forces and movement which passengers experience as the bus is driven along a route, allowing Mr Harvey to pinpoint where improvements can be made for new drivers.
"We want to ensure passengers have a much better ride," Mr Budd said.
Ritchies Dunedin depot assistant manager David Lott is among the group of drivers undergoing training.
He said the technology ensured trainee drivers were able to identify - and correct - bad habits.
"Thankfully, I didn't have any ... It far and away surpasses any other training I've seen in my time driving in Dunedin," he said.
A bus driver of two years' experience, Mr Lott is among a new group of employees who will be involved with passenger transport services on city routes which Ritchies has recently been contracted to deliver for the Otago Regional Council.
Mr Budd said the routes would also be serviced by buses outfitted with cycle racks, a first for Dunedin.
Otago Regional Council support services manager Gerard Collings said any driver training programmes for public transport was a "good thing".
"The computer video programme gives guidance to drivers about passenger comfort and it's a great way of improving service and standards," he said.
