Mr Marshall denies cuts in school bus services

Press, 19 February 1986, Page 3

Mr Marshall denies cuts in school bus services

The Government had not cut bus services in rural areas or changed existing policies on the services, said the Minister of Education, Mr Marshall yesterday. He said the long-stand-ing policy was that the upper limit for assistance

for school bus services should be the daily rate of the boarding bursary. When services exceeded that level, education boards were expected to reorganise routes to bring the services within cost. “In a few exceptional

cases, with special approval, it was possible previously for services to be provided outside this policy at a rate above the daily rate of the boarding bursary. It has now been decided that such approvals should not continue,” Mr Marshall said.

Only 45 to 50 of the 2371 services in New Zealand would be affected. Rural parents would not necessarily have to pay for school transport as over-cost services would be reorganised to bring them within policy limits, he said.

Miss Ruth Richardson, Opposition spokesman on education, said that the existing policy on school bus services had changed, because the discretion to approve services above

the guideline of the boarding bursary had been removed. The Government had tried to introduce the user-pays idea into the school bus service last year.

Its latest move showed that it still intended to do so, but in a more gradual way, she said.