Help on the way for long-legged bus patrons

Auckland bus commuters who sit head and shoulders above the crowds are in for some sweet relief.

Around 200 of Auckland Transport's buses have been rolled out with extra leg room for tall travellers.

Newshub reporter Ryan Bridge, who is 6'4" (193cm), struggles to fit into the seats on the network's older buses. He found an ally in Auckland Transport's metro operations' manager, Brendon Main, who is a towering 6'5" (195.6cm).

"The older fleet has a pretty standard layout for a bus that's delivered all over the world, plus meets with the national standards of what needs to be delivered by a bus but... it's pretty tight for tall people," Mr Main told Newshub.

The distance between the back of both seats on the older buses is 670mm but the new fleet has an extra 20mm to make the journey smoother.

But it won't cost seats - instead, buses will now be slightly longer.

"We just built it into the design of the buses so we could keep the same number [of seats]," Mr Main said.

As the older fleet is replaced over the next 10 to 15 years, the entire network will be replaced with the new specification.

The change was brought about following feedback from passengers.

Newshub.