Ministry of Education (MoE) has been planning to remove free school buses from routes serviced by "suitable" public transport, affecting 1000-plus students across Wakatipu High and seven primary schools.
MoE received a huge backlash from school communities pointing out the public buses students would need to catch are at capacity at the times they’d be needed, meaning they’d be stranded at bus stops.
Parents of younger students weren’t happy about them mixing with strangers on buses, leading to even more cars on congested roads.
And they’ve raised the fact students would be paying $3 a day to use Orbus public buses, disadvantaging those from lower socio-economic families.
Principals submitted concerns there’d be rising absenteeism, and more students arriving late to school. Queenstown Primary principal Fiona Cavanagh urged MoE to delay the axing to 2027, by when there’ll be more public buses on the road.
MoE school transport group manager James Meffan says they’re still evaluating the feedback they received in September. However, a final decision would be made "in the near future", and affected schools would be informed directly.
He says no implementation date for any changes has been set yet, and MoE generally provides at least one term’s notice before changes are implemented.
"In area-wide reviews such as this one, changes may be phased in over time."
Cavanagh was due to meet an MoE official yesterday afternoon, planning to share percentages of students requiring transport.
"In particular we are extremely concerned about our students on public buses due to the nature of our central placement, and especially crossing busy roads unsupervised.
"The students as young as 5 years old could be exposed to early-morning revellers using the same bus, as an example."
