A Sydney bus driver with 11 years' experience was allegedly using a mobile phone and driving dangerously when he was involved in a crash that killed two men on a scooter.
The scooter rider, 32, and his passenger, 44, were food delivery workers waiting to make a turn in Kingsgrove on Monday after 8pm when they were caught in the crash involving the bus and another car.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy says the scooter rider was thrown into the path of another vehicle and was killed instantly. The passenger died a short time later.
Photos show the destroyed scooter strewn across the road while the bus's windscreen was shattered on the right-hand side.
The 49-year-old bus driver was charged with dangerous and negligent driving causing death, using a mobile phone and not wearing a seatbelt.
He was refused bail to appear in Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday.
Mr Corboy said the incident was "really concerning".
"Two people lost their lives tragically when they didn't have to," Mr Corboy told reporters in Sydney.
A Transit Systems spokeswoman said the bus driver has been stood down pending police and internal investigations.
"Following last night's tragic incident in Kingsgrove, we are absolutely devastated for all of those involved and our deepest sympathies are with the families," she said in a statement.
"All of our bus drivers undergo regular driver training sessions and hold a bus driver authority.
"The driver involved in this incident is fully authorised and licensed and has 11 years' bus driving experience."
There were no passengers on the bus at the time of the incident, the transport company says.
Five people lost their lives over the Australia Day long weekend, two more than the same period in 2018.
