Rural bus fare decision soon

Press, 2 December 1985, Page 17

Rural bus fare decision soon

PA Wellington A decision on whether the Government will start charging parents for rural school transport services is expected by the end of next month.

An Education Department report on the feasibility of introducing a standard charge for both urban and rural pupils has been given to the Minister of Education, Mr Marshall, and will be considered by the Cabinet soon.

At present, school transport for rural pupils is paid for by the State, but while subsidies are available for some urban pupils, in most cases parents must meet the cost themselves:

However, the high cost of providing school transport — expected to be ?60 million this year — has led to the investigation into introducing a standard charge for all pupils.

The suggestion has drawn protests in rural communities that imposing a charge for school transport would be an unfair burden, especially given the present economics of farming.

The Wellington Education Board, which provides transport for about 8000 primary and secondary pupils each day, has said it is totally opposed to rural parents being charged for the service.