Council could slow down plans to axe school buses

A BayHopper bus that could soon be crowded with college and intermediate students. Photo/file

A huge groundswell of parent opposition to plans to axe most of Tauranga's SchoolHopper bus services could force the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to extend next Tuesday's cut-off date for public feedback.

"As far as I am concerned, the feedback is what I want to focus our time on," regional councillor Paula Thompson said yesterday.

The Tauranga-based councillor spoke out during a workshop of the council's public transport committee. Also attending were a small group of parents and members of the Tauranga City Council.

Controversy generated by the plan could also see the council postpone the introduction of the new bus system until the first term of 2019 instead of the middle of next year.

The plan to axe most SchoolHopper services and put students on to the BayHopper public buses coincided with proposed improvements to the BayHopper service, including slashing travel times.

The regional council's transport policy manager Garry Maloney said the SchoolHopper contractors would be more than happy to extend their contracts by six months. However, he was doubtful about what new information would be provided by extending the deadline for submissions past June 6.

Ms Thompson said the council needed to think carefully about how it managed the consultation process because it was parents and caregivers who would be making decisions for getting their children to school.

Two petitions have so far gathered more than 1300 signatures from people alarmed at the proposal to cut the council's dedicated school bus service from 45 buses to 11 - saving $1.5 million a year. There has also been a huge online response.

Another Tauranga-based regional councillor David Love agreed with Ms Thompson's concerns. "At the moment we are not carrying the population with us and we must make sure we do ... we must get it right the first time around."

Regional council strategy manager Fiona McTavish said Tauranga was the only city in the country to have a separate SchoolHopper service and it had one of the lowest fares.

The regional council knew there were problems and it had possible solutions, transport planner Joe Metcalfe said. He said Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller was in the heart of the issue because the most resistance was coming from Papamoa and Papamoa East.

Regional councillor and former Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby responded, "Did he mention that the Government forced this on us?"

Mr Muller said in a statement released after the meeting that he could foresee a situation where parents would simply put this into the too-hard basket and revert to driving their kids to school.

"This will only put more pressure on our local roads and add to congestion."

He said the council was proposing a significant redesign of the bus network and the community deserved to have their concerns heard.

"Many local parents - my wife and I included - have a lot of anxiety about how this will all work"

President of Aquinas College's Parent Teacher Association Lee-Ann Taylor, who attended the meeting, said people were fired up about the issue and she backed the councillors who wanted to slow down the process and listen to ratepayers.

"They should halt the project until they have had a really close look at it."

Key concerns to emerge from public consultation
- Safety at road crossing points: Mount College across Maunganui Rd and Tauranga Intermediate along Cameron Rd, 18th Ave and Fraser St.
- Stranger danger: Unsavoury behaviour at Willow St interchange and on public buses.
- Walking distances: Sometimes up to 1km in the rain.
- Transferring between buses: May not be possible for younger students and arriving late at school after missing the bus.