After an extensive service life, the bus was retired from active service with NZBus in July 2010. It was parked up in what was dubbed "Rotten Row" at the back of Swanson depot, awaiting its fate. From here, the bus was purchased by New Zealand Coach Services (NCS) of Wellington, where it operated Rail Replacements, charters and other work for many years.

 

Around 2016, the bus was purchased by Coachways New Zealand and was painted in the company's recognizable green livery. It saw a repaint and rebrand in 2017 to the new Coachways livery, however, in 2018, it was sold to Bromells Coachlines of Nelson. 

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Bromells operated the bus on regular school and charter work in the Nelson region right up until the end of 2023, when it was retired for newer vehicles to take its place. We were able to broker a deal and have been able to return this vehicle to Auckland, with #1729 returning in October 2024.