On The Up: Central Hawke’s Bay parents turn cancelled school bus route into thriving business

Rachel and Todd Astill in front of their 22-seater Toyota Coaster bus they use to take Karamu High School students to and from Central Hawke's Bay.

The joy of buses – you wait ages for one, and then three show up all at once.

Think of this as a pertinent metaphor for one Central Hawke’s Bay family, who decided to start a bus company at the start of the year after their child’s school bus was terminated.

Central Hawke’s Bay residents Todd and Rachel Astill have been so successful with their business model, they’ve moved from one bus to three in next to no time.

The pair have one child, Ollie, at Karamū High School in Hastings, and hope their three younger children, Stella, Hugo, and Louis, will also attend.

But the bus that transports Ollie to and from school each day – from Waipawa to Karamū High – was canned at the end of Term 4 2024 as part of widespread Ministry of Education bus route terminations in Hawke’s Bay.

The Ministry of Education says the primary responsibility for getting children to and from school rests with caregivers.

To be eligible to receive ministry-funded school transport assistance, there must be eight or more students using the bus, students must attend their local state or state-integrated school, and they must live within a certain distance of the school.

Todd and Rachel didn’t want to stop sending Ollie to Karamū.

So the Astills bought a 22-seater Toyota Coaster bus and started driving Ollie and fellow Central Hawke’s Bay kids to and from schools in Hastings and Havelock North for $50 a week per student.

“We were really gutted that the ministry pulled the bus, and when they did we jumped in to fill a void,” Todd said.

“But now it’s a business opportunity for us.”

The Astills quickly sold out and have enjoyed a bus full of young learners throughout the year.

The family hasn’t received any financial assistance from the Ministry of Education for their school runs.

“We haven’t gone to the ministry, but no one’s come to us at all and said that they can help or anything,” Todd said.

“So it’s all parent-paid. We do want to make a business out of it and things like that, obviously, but we’re not going to send parents out of pocket either.

“Before they pulled the bus service, we were paying pretty much what we’re charging now anyway.”

Now, the family has added a 43-seater bus and a 45-seater coach, aiming to expand their business into school and sports trips, labour transport, concert transfers, long-haul journeys and anything else people may need a bus or coach for.

The Astills’ goals for the new year are to continue to help Central Hawke’s Bay students get to school and help schools any way they can.

“We’re just a small company, but we offer a good service and a really good price, so I think we would like to expand to help schools out a little bit more,” Todd said.

Todd and Rachel can be contacted via the HB Bus Service Facebook page.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.