Concerned parents and public have presented regional councillors with a petition of nearly 2000 signatures to save the school buses.
The petition, which had received 1785 signatures, was handed over to Bay of Plenty Regional Council's First Ave offices at 1pm today.
The regional council has extended its cut-off date for public submissions on the controversial restructuring of Tauranga's BayHopper and SchoolHopper bus services by one week.
The council was consulting with public on the proposal to get rid of most school buses and instead put students on BayHopper public buses.
The plan was part of proposed improvements to the BayHopper service, which included making them faster and more frequent - but would also cut 45 school buses down to 11.
Petition organiser Karen McCabe said there were 1785 signatures on the petition, which was started on change.org in mid May.
"My initial target was 100, then it went up to 500 and it just snowballed from there," she said.
"There is just so much anger out there. I think we feel let down that our children's safety is being compromised."
Mrs McCabe said the "already heaving" infrastructure was also being affected. "Our parents are saying that they will have to take their children to school."
"I have been lucky enough to speak to some pensioners who have stated their concerns about their safety on the buses with all of the students on the buses."
Mrs McCabe had one son who caught the bus at the end of the street and was dropped directly outside school.
"As of next year he will be catching three buses to school from Welcome Bay to Bethlehem College."
Aquinas College student Toby Taylor, 13, takes one bus to and from school. "I am not sure what my route is changing to but I would have to walk further to get to the bus stop."
Toby was concerned for children who would have to cross busy roads to get to their bus stop.
"The traffic is getting worse in Tauranga and the kids having to cross busy roads in the morning is not going to be good," he said.
"The roads are going to get more congested and the kids are going to have to pay more money to change bus routes."
Toby feared children would be sitting on the buses with strangers. "I think as an older kid I am more aware of my surroundings, but maybe for the little children they might not know what to do."
St Mary's Catholic School pupil Emma Rogers, 9, was concerned for her safety.
"I think it is a little unsafe for how far we are going to have to walk if the bus changes. Crossing busy main roads and other roads will be very unsafe."
Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller said he welcomed the regional council's extension of the cut-off date for public submissions on proposed changes to local bus networks.
"The extension to the consultation period shows the regional council is listening to the community and responding to their needs," said Mr Muller.
"A huge amount of credit needs to go to Lee-Ann Taylor, Michael Pugh, Miranda Horan and all of the concerned parents who have made the effort to ensure their family perspective is heard by signing this petition.
"If anything, this is a testament to the power of community engagement. When people engage with the issues that impact on their lives, they really can influence positive change."
Mr Muller also welcomed the contribution of former regional council chairman John Cronin to the debate in recent days.
"John Cronin is a hugely experienced and respected local figure who brings a lot to this conversation. It is great to see his leadership on the issue.
"There is a lot of merit in his suggestion that a free bus service for students would significantly reduce rush-hour traffic and it would be great to see this explored further.
"It is also pleasing to see a strong safety focus in his messaging because at the end of the day this isn't just about the dollars and cents, it is about our kids and getting them to and from school in a safe and efficient way," said Mr Muller.
A Bay of Plenty Regional Council spokesperson said the council happily received the petition. The next step will be to discuss public feedback at the scheduled council meeting on June 23.