A school bus trial to establish whether free fares for students can assist in Tauranga's traffic congestion begins at the start of Term One for Welcome Bay students.
The trial which will run for the 2019 school year is being led by Bay of Plenty Regional Council with cooperation from Tauranga City Council, NZ Transport Agency and the Ministry of Education.
Regional Council Public Transport Committee Chairman Lyall Thurston says the limited access points in and out of Welcome Bay, location of schools and existing bus-use make Welcome Bay an ideal location for a trial.
'Trialling free school bus services on a route known for congestion will provide clear information regarding the impact of the trial on traffic flows.
'The trial if successful may alleviate some of this in the short term.”
Tauranga schools report 724 students living in the Welcome Bay area with between 250 and 300 using school buses.
Some of the routes will have two buses running on them and students only need to be in school uniform to get access to the free service, no special passes or tickets are required.
For more information on the Welcome Bay free school bus trial go to www.baybus.co.nz
5 comments
too little ..too late, desperate council advisors
Posted on 21-01-2019 10:46 | By CC8
Somebody has actually looked at the problem FINALLY, but these town planners and theoretical bumblers have left it too late. Those who were ferried themselves and are now parents have been conditioned for so long, that they think it is normal for kids to be ferried to and from school in a car. Politicians and their advisers desperate to validate the theories they have expounded for years to no avail. The buses will still be half full at best and the roads will still be clogged with parents who keep making excuses to drive kids in cars. What happened to riding a bike to school? Oh that's right, they made cycle lanes for that too, but they are hardly ever used, except by local body civil servants trying to prove their point..
Traffic Chaos
Posted on 21-01-2019 13:20 | By rogue
Here's 3 ideas. 1. Live in the community you want your kids to go to school in. 2. Make your kids walk / ride a bike to school ( might help them get their daily exercise to ). 3. Make all buses free & watch how quickly they fill up.
CC8
Posted on 21-01-2019 14:20 | By earlybird
Instead of being so cynical and negative while school kids are still on holiday, why don't you wait until after school starts and then make your comments. You may be pleasantly surprised.
1 step forward, 2 step backward
Posted on 21-01-2019 17:43 | By Ben F
The Regional council is giving free buses to Welcome bay and has CANCELLED the school bus for Maungatapu's 200 boys/girls college kids. Trafic savings from Welcome bay will be used by 200 school run cars from Maungatapu
Too right
Posted on 21-01-2019 21:37 | By Captain Hottie
@CC8 you have hit the nail on the head. My mum never drove so it was bus or walk or cycle for me . Nowadays kids have to be chauffeured like little princes from here to there. As soon as they hit 16 little Tarquin and Tabitha then get their own vehicles because OMG catching a bus is soooo traumatic!! So then it's not just parents clogging the roads but the teenage pupils as well. Perhaps schools should start taxing kids who get to school by car. Hey, you choose to send your kid across town to school, you jolly well pay for your contribution to traffic.
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