Te āwhina waka kuraSchool transport assistance

Talk to your school or kura about what transport options are available. They can tell you about any help your child may be able to get, or if there is public transport they can use.

Types of assistance

If your child is eligible for transport assistance, we may provide:

• access to a free school bus service
• a payment to help you with the costs of getting your child to and from school.

Depending on how close the nearest school bus route is to your house, you might receive one type of assistance or both.

If your child has extra needs

If your child has safety or mobility needs that mean they cannot travel independently, you may be able to get help from the Specialised School Transport Assistance (SESTA) service instead.

Transport assistance for children with safety or mobility needs

If your child lives very far from school

If your child lives too far from their school to travel there each day, they might qualify for an allowance to assist with the cost of boarding away from home.

Boarding allowances for Years 9 to 13

Who can get transport assistance

To be considered for transport assistance, your child must meet all 3 of the following criteria:

1. They attend the closest state or state-integrated school they can enrol at. 
2. They live more than 3.2km from school if in Years 1 to 8, or 4.8km from school if in Years 9 to 13.
3. There are no suitable public transport options available.

Attending a state-integrated school

State-integrated schools are schools that have a special character. They generally have a philosophical or religious belief as part of their school programme. If your child attends one of these, it must be the closest school of its type for them to qualify for transport assistance. For example, the closest Catholic school if Catholic education is chosen.

Single-sex schools or schools that offer specific sports or other programmes are not considered special character schools.

If your child attends a Māori-medium school, whichever kura is chosen will be considered the closest. This is to allow ākonga | students to attend a kura that aligns to their iwi and hapū affiliation.

School transport for Māori-medium schools

What suitable public transport means

Transport assistance is not available if you have suitable public transport in your area. This is public transport that:

• travels to within 2.4 km of both your home and school
• does not need your child to be picked up before 7am and gets them to school on time
• collects your child within an hour of school finishing
• does not need your child to change buses more than once on a journey.

If a suitable public transport option becomes available, we may stop running school buses in that area. We will give affected schools at least a full term's notice of the change.

Attending a school that is not your nearest one

If your child would be eligible to use the school bus if they attended their closest school, but is enrolled at a school further away, they may be able to use the school bus at their enrolled school. Your school can give you information about the school bus and tell you if your child qualifies.

Read this guide for more information.

Our school bus service

How it works

We design our bus network to collect as many eligible children as possible. Each route needs to serve a minimum number of eligible children before it will be considered. We may alter services and routes as locations of students change.

The bus will take your child to school but does not provide a door-to-door service. You will need to get your child to and from their closest bus stop.

Sometimes students who aren't eligible can use the school bus if the transport provider allows it. Criteria need to be met for this to happen. These students may have to pay a fare.

Some schools organise their own school buses. They may have their own rules for how their service work.

School transport assistance (for education professionals)

Access the service

Talk to your school to find out what is available and if your child is eligible.

Responsibilities and safety

You are responsible for getting your child to the bus stop, and for teaching them how to stay safe on and around the bus.

Your school may have a code of conduct that you and your child must sign up to before using the school bus.

If your child's behaviour while travelling is disruptive or is a safety risk, they may lose their place on the school bus. If this happens you cannot get the conveyance allowance.

Read the guide below for information about how to keep your child safe and what is expected of them while they travel on our buses.

We do regular audits of our transport service providers. Bus drivers are trained and undergo background checks. They must follow a code of conduct and have guidelines for what to do if there is an incident.

Conveyance allowance

How it works

The Daily Bus Conveyance allowance is a contribution to help with the cost of getting your eligible child to school or the nearest bus route. We pay it to you quarterly after your school sends us the enrolment report at the end of term. The conveyance allowance is not paid on fixed dates so the date you receive your payment will vary.

How much you are paid depends on how many children you are taking to school and how far you have to travel. The allowance is paid at a daily rate so your payment will vary depending on how many school days are in the term.

Who can get the allowance

To receive the Daily Bus Conveyance allowance your child must meet the 3 criteria for being eligible for transport assistance and have limited access to a school bus. This means either:

• there is no school bus or public transport available in your area, or
• there is a school bus or public transport in your area, but you live more than 2.4km from the nearest bus route.

How to apply

You can apply for the Daily Bus Conveyance Allowance using our online form, or your school can apply on your behalf. Once you complete the application, it is sent to your school to sign off.

Conveyance Allowance application – Pokapū Waka Kura | Caregivers Hub

If your application for the allowance is approved, you will receive the payment as long as your child is eligible. You do not need to reapply for it each year.

You do need to tell us if there is a change to your home address, the school your child is enrolled at or your bank account details.