A school bus trial to establish whether free fares for students can assist in Tauranga’s traffic congestion begins at the start of Term One for Welcome Bay students.
The trial which will run for the 2019 school year is being led by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council with cooperation from Tauranga City Council, NZ Transport Agency and the Ministry of Education.
Regional Council Public Transport Committee Chairman Lyall Thurston
says the limited access points in and out of Welcome Bay,
trial.
“Trialling free school bus services on a route known for congestion will
provide clear information regarding the impact of the trial on traffic flows,” Cr. Thurston says. “The trial if successful may alleviate some of this in the short term.”
Tauranga schools report 724 students living in the Welcome Bay area with between 250 and 300 using school buses. Some of the routes will have two buses running on them and students only need to be in school uniform to access the free service, no special passes or tickets are required.
For more information on the Welcome
