If you don’t bend, you break: Sydney to receive 50 new ‘bendy’ buses

Funding for the purchase of 50 brand new articulated — or “bendy” — buses has been allocated in the NSW Government's 2025-26 Budget, according to transport minister John Graham.

The additional buses will seek to address capacity shortages along overcrowded North Shore and Northern Beaches routes, particularly those affected by the 83 bendy buses taken off the road last year.

These buses were removed from operation after safety concerns arose regarding “cracking” in the bus chassis. 

As the Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches bus routes are contracted to private companies Keolis Downer and Busways, the majority of these bendy buses will be operated and maintained by these private operators. 

These routes include the 144, 252 and 500x route, as well as routes to the city such as the 100, 194X, and supplementary B-Line services.

In order to operate an articulated bus, an ordinary bus driver requires additional training, along with a separate license classification. 

A spokesperson for Transport NSW told the Lorikeet “articulated buses have proven their worth operating in Sydney for nearly 50 years, and looking closer to home they are also an important part of bus fleets in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra and Brisbane, all of whom have continued to update their articulated buses fleet.”

Image Credit: Wikipedia Commons