Board calls on government to end ‘extremely unsafe’ standing on school buses

3 July 2018 – Wanaka Primary School (WPS) is calling on the government to stop children being forced to stand in the aisles of buses when travelling to and from school on the open road, believing it to be a significant safety risk.

WPS Trustees say the way the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ministry of Education (MoE) currently work together is fundamentally flawed and requires urgent review.

WPS Board Chair, Andrew Howard says NZTA uses a ‘certificate of loading’ regime that specifically allows school buses to load children in such numbers that some are required to stand. The MoE funds the service under this regime in full knowledge that standing will occur.

“I was very surprised to hear that standing is not only allowed but positively encouraged under the current system. We consider children of any age having to stand in the aisles of school buses to be extremely unsafe and potentially life threatening,” he says.

“These are large vehicles travelling at 80km/h on the open road in all weathers. There are additional risks in our district with often severe winter driving conditions and inexperienced tourist drivers not used to New Zealand roads. Studies suggest that pedestrian survival rates in an accident with a vehicle travelling at 80km/h are zero. The same could be said for standing passengers in a moving bus.”

WPS Board of Trustees has gained the support of both Queenstown Lakes District Mayor, Jim Boult and Waitaki MP, Jacqui Dean.

In a recent letter to the MoE, Mayor Boult wrote: “We don’t for one minute condone adults riding in motor cars without seatbelts, yet we are prepared to allow the most precious part of our community – our children – to stand up unrestrained on the open road. The situation does seem ludicrous.”

Andrew Howard says the situation can be resolved either by the MoE adopting a one-seat-per-child funding formula or by the Ministry of Transport changing legislation to stop allowing passengers to stand on buses when travelling on the open road.

“The MoE’s own study found that the estimated cost of providing a seat for all children would only cost an estimated $1.4 million. This seems like a small price to pay for dramatically improving the safety of our children.”

WPS trustees are currently awaiting a response from the Ministry of Education.

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