Mr Hipkins was questioned by Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono about the impact of the pay discrepancy between school bus drivers and public bus drivers during question time this week.
Last month the Ministry of Transport announced it would spend $61 million to boost public bus driver wages in order to address the driver shortages that have caused disruption both in Dunedin, where a reduced timetable has been in place since July, and throughout the country.
The funding would not apply to school bus drivers, as that responsibility lay with the Ministry of Education.
Mr Hipkins said the implications of this for school bus drivers was being considered.
"I’m committed to ensuring that rural communities are not disadvantaged by the additional support provided to public transport bus drivers," he said.
Following the Ministry of Transport’s announcement, school bus drivers told the Otago Daily Times they were tempted to leave the school run for the better pay rates of public bus driving roles.
However, Mr Hipkins said he was confident bus services would continue when the new school year began.
Dunedin Tramways Union president Alan Savell said the response was "hugely encouraging" despite a lack of detail.
A bus was a bus, and the union believed that if one ministry raised pay rates, the other ministry would have to follow suit.
If they did not, a number of drivers would make the switch to public routes.
He was confident there would be news of a funding boost to benefit school bus drivers before term one began.
