Ritchie's, New Zealand's largest privately owned bus operator with a fleet exceeding 800 vehicles, is investing NZ$21 million (￡9.7million) in 120 of a new design of truck-derived schoolbuses.rnThe new buses - bodied by American-owned Designline, the largest bus bodybuilder in New Zealand - are being built to meet several restrictions on the types of vehicles used as schoolbuses.rnThere is a 25-year age limit on vehicles operated, since January 2009 no pre-2007 vehicles can be imported secondhand, axle weight limits require 53-seat and larger buses to have a third axle, and road user charges rise incrementally with unladen weight.
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