School pupils around Dunedin have been left without a way to get to school after the closure of a local bus company, but the Otago Regional Council is extending its bus routes to help get children to class.
After commercial Dunedin bus company Otago Road Services ceased operation late last year, many pupils were left without a means of getting to school.
On Friday, the regional council announced route extensions in the Dunedin public transport network to support pupils who had fallen into the gaps not covered by other bus services.
A regional council spokesman said the extensions primarily affected pupils travelling via Green Island to Kaikorai Valley College and King’s and Queen’s High Schools.
From today, there will be an extension to bus route 70, allowing pupils to travel to and from Kaikorai Valley College.
The morning service will depart at 8.18am from Green Island and the afternoon one will depart Kaikorai Valley College at 3.05pm.
From Thursday, route 40C, servicing King’s, Queen’s and Bathgate Park schools, will provide a Green Island connection.
The morning service will depart Green Island at 8.25am and the afternoon one will depart Bathgate Park School at 3.15pm.
Green Island would be a key transfer point for pupils travelling on these services.
ORC implementation lead, transport, Julian Phillips said catching the public bus network was different from using a dedicated school service.
Parents and pupils had to be aware of the changes and account for longer journey times.
Understanding the routes and transfers would be vital to ensuring a smooth journey for all pupils, he said.
Pupils with a Bee Card could get youth concession fares for their journey.
The buses operated by Otago Road Services were outside the public transport network and the supplemented buses were contracted by the Ministry of Education, he said.
The regional council understood the pressure parents and pupils were under due to the loss of the private services, but there was a limit to what it could do to fill the gap.
"We cannot provide a direct service to every single school. The solutions we are implementing may not be perfect for every student, and schools will need to explore longer-term solutions," Mr Phillips said.
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Comments
As many parents work but live in areas where they normally have to run their kids to school by car it is ORC's responsibility to provide access to school by bus. The buses already do not make a profit and are local government funded. Since the national government also has a responsibility to see our children get schooling, in our culture, it is the government's responsibility to subsidise but travel to school. If the system is to change, let parents know and maybe offer them a subsidy or petrol payment so they can arrange transport for their children.