Students No Closer to Bus Ride to School

By MARRIS, Sharon

RURAL students left out in the cold because of a school bus shortage will have to wait another four months to learn if they can catch the bus to school.

The North Taranaki students, who attend New Plymouth high schools, were left without transport after a bus company pulled out of the route, leaving the sole provider with double the number of students they had anticipated in the first week of term.

The remaining bus, owned by Tranzit Coachlines Taranaki Ltd, had a limit of 59 students, leaving 15-20 pupils having to make alternative arrangements last month.

Tranzit manager Michelle Durdle said the company had made efforts to secure a larger bus but there were only two of these in Tranzit’s fleet of 450.

“It seems every other depot in the country is having similar loading problems,” she said yesterday.

There was now a waiting list for the bus, Mrs Durdle said, and eight students had put their names on it — less than previously expected.

“That means not many people wanted it after all or not many people wanted to go on the waiting list,” she said.

There were also other options for the company to cope with the demand, she said. The bus could be gutted and have new seating put in. That could take months, however.

Mrs Durdle expected to know the route’s future by June.

Last month, the Taranaki Daily News reported that parents in Urenui were having to run children to school or arrange car pooling. They considered the $300 cost of a term pass unfair when it would not be fully used.

The Ministry of Education transport assistance provides only for students living more than 4.8km away from the nearest secondary school.