Buses — a compulsory convenience?

Press, 23 February 1989, Page 10

Buses — a compulsory convenience?

by

MAVIS AIREY

“You stop there," said the driver, as a gaggle of school children started to board the bus. “Your school bus is right behind.” It was the first week of the new school year and at each stop the little drama was repeated. Some children handled the rebuff with dignity, others broke into embarrassed giggles, others tried to argue. The driver was adamant.

Most children enjoy taking the school bus, and the opportunity it offers to meet up with their friends. But some are reluctant. “I don’t want to take the school bus. The big kids put yoghurt in Justin’s hair,” said my new third former before school started.

Fortunately, a few days’ experience of what the school bus is really like convinced her that Justin’s experience — if true — was definitely not the norm.

But should children be forced to take the school bus?

“We like to think we can direct Children to take the buses put on specially for them,” says Tony Purcell, operations manager at the Christchurch Transport Board, “but it’s not always easy.” The chief inspector, Tony Davis, agrees. "I don’t think you can actually refuse to take a child on a scheduled bus. I’d hate to see them refused. Usually, a timetabled bus is scheduled at a similar

time, and if a child has missed the special bus it’s a no-no now to leave them behind. “Nowadays, people are very aware of the hassles and problems relating to young kids,” Mr Davis says.

About half of Christchurch’s high schools and several primary schools offer special bus services to take their pupils to and from school.

The reasons vary. Overcrowding of scheduled services is one. Adult passengers complain about the noise and the lack of courtesy. Giving up a seat for an older person is becoming increasingly unfashionable, it seems. A student bus pass holder is supposed to stand for adults, according to the fine print on the back of the card, but Tony Davis admits this is difficult to enforce. "Drivers can ask, but kids seems to know their rights these days.” A common rejoinder is “I’ve paid my fare, the same as she has.” Some parents apparently encourage their children in this view.

Tony Davis is philosophical: “It’s today’s society,” he says. Tony Purcell is not: “I blame the teachers. I. think too many teachers have got the equal rights syndrome,” he says. However, the convenience of adults is not the only reason for school buses. The convenience of the children is also a consideration. Some schools have a widely spread catchment area or are not directly served by timetabled routes.. To save students having to walk too far, the school bus can take a circuitous route down suburban streets and drop them off at the school door.

The services are run by the Transport Board and

various other bus companies.

Requests for a school bus service are not automatically granted by the C.T.B. “We’re looking harder at schools,” says Tony Purcell. “After all, it costs the same for us to send a bus full of kids in the rush hour as it does to send a bus full of adults.”

Fares are based on sections of about 1400 m, in

the same way as scheduled routes. Students can, pay cash, but most use ■ multi-ride . student cards, which are available through schools and ordinary bus ticket outlets.

Proof that the child is attending school is needed, as these cards are now the only method students over 15 have of travelling half-fare, Tony Purcell says.