Australia's bendy-bus boycott has been broken.
Bus drivers in Sydney voted to ban the vehicles, formally known as articulated buses, earlier this week amid safety concerns. It wasn't their length that was the problem - as was the case when bendy-buses made their debut in London - but the fact drivers believed the electronic brakes could fail without warning.
That can be a problem when you're driving a vehicle that weighs several tons, and the drivers' union says there were more than a few close calls on the road.
Sydney introduced the buses in 2005, and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union says the brakes have always been dodgy. The State Transit Authority says they've found no evidence of a problem and insists the 80 buses are perfectly safe. Volvo, which makes the buses, tested the brakes at the agency's request and found no problems. But a union official says there have been more than 70 cases since September where drivers depressed the brake pedal and nothing happened until the brakes came on suddenly, sending passengers flying.
The transit authority and the union spent two days hammering out an agreement to upgrade software in the buses. The new programming changes how the engine brake, transmission brake and wheel brakes work together - a process called brake blending - to make the buses braking behave more like older buses in the fleet. Volvo expects to finish updating the software in all 80 buses within two weeks.
Photo by Flickr user listorama.
