Buses

Bus Eligibility (Rules set by the Ministry of Education)

School transport assistance eligibility criteria

We are funded (via routes set by the MOE, arranged through a Transport Entitlement Zone and contracted to bus companies to manage) to offer school transport assistance to eligible students only.

To qualify for assistance, students must meet the following criteria:

• they are attending their closest (state or state-integrated) school

• they live more than a certain distance from school:

  • 3.2km for Years 1-8

  • 4.8km for Years 9-13

• there is no suitable public transport available.

Ineligible students

Transport service providers may also transport ineligible students.

Please note, we cannot, under our supplier contracts, require transport service providers to carry ineligible students.

If the transport service provider agrees to carry ineligible students, the following conditions must be met:

• prior written agreement obtained from any school affected by the operation of a daily route

• all students are seated

• the vehicle doesn’t deviate from the contracted route to pick up ineligible students

• all ineligible students are advised of the conditions of transportation which must be signed by their caregivers

• transport service providers may also charge ineligible students a fare.

• There may be situations where ineligible students need to be removed from Ministry-funded services (for example, due to overcrowding or for not meeting the above conditions). 

Transport Entitlement Zone (This map is set by the Ministry of Education)

To arrange pupil transport on a bus service, please contact the school office. 

Please note:

• Bus routes are set by the Ministry of Education.

• These contracts are then tendered out to providers.

• Our provider is Ritchies Gore.  Here is the link to their website with contact details: https://www.ritchies.co.nz/gore 

• Ritchies employs the bus drivers and owns the buses.

• The bus service is not a door-to-door service.

• Our Transport Entitlement Zone allows those within it to travel, free of charge, on the MOE-defined bus routes.  

• Should a bus be full, pupils who are ineligible, will be at risk of not being able to travel on that bus.

• If a child is travelling on a bus from outside of our TEZ, then parents will need permission for the school's TEZ they are travelling through, and will be required to pay a travel charge to Ritchies. 

• Parents are welcome to transport their child, into our TEZ and by doing so, get on a bus within our TEZ.  This would require space on the bus to be available as that bus service is first and foremostly for eligible in our TEZ students.

• Our Buses are:

  • Homestead Bus (Route D140311) : This collects children from west of the school up State Highway One towards Invercargill.  This bus is shared with Menzies College.  This means there are senior-aged (Year 7 - 13) children on that bus.  It also means that after school this bus leaves our school later as we have to wait for Menzies to finish.

  • Seaward Downs (Route D140315): This collects children south of the school down Seaward Downs Road.  This bus only has Edendale Primary School students on it.

  • Brydone Bus (Route D140309): This collects children north of the school up State Highway One towards Mataura.  This bus is shared with Menzies College.    This means there are senior-aged (Year 7 - 13) children on that bus.  It also means that after school this bus leaves our school later as we have to wait for Menzies to finish.

  • Fortrose Bus (Route D140313): This is a Menzies College bus only and will require a per trip payment to Ritchies.  When Menzies is closed, this bus does not run and so parents of children on that bus will need to transport their child too and from school.  Permission from Tokanui School, Glenham School and Gorge Road school is required for children to hop on this bus as it travels through three other primary school's TEZs.

• One-Offs: For students who want to have a visitor join the bus to travel to or from school on a one-off situation, we do ask that 

  • the student provides our school (and bus driver) with a note from parents/caregivers (prior to the visitor travelling) 

  • OR have the parent/caregiver phone our school office 03 206 6959. 

  • Further Ritchies, who run the buses, need to be notified at their office on 03 208 9902. 

  • Please note this is not a door-to-door service and children will be dropped off at a point that is closest to the destination. Parents will need to coordinate with the person their child is going to regarding having an appropriate person there to support their child if there is further walking or transport needed.

• Change of Arrangements: We must have all changes of arrangments, especially relating to buses, into the school by 2.30pm to give the office staff time to use the established system to share the change with the students.  3.00pm is too late and runs the risk of interruptions causing the message to be lost in the busyness of that time when children, staff and adults are all converging on the office.

Bus Routes (All routes are set by the Ministry of Education)

Below is the Ministry of Education bus route map generater.  

Under 'Search by Route Number' you can type in the numbers that we have next to each route and that should show you the set Ministry of Education funded route.  If you live off the set Ministry of Education bus route, you will need to meet the run at a safe point.