A proposal for regional councils to take over responsibility for the public school bus network has been supported by parents who have protested “rigid” Ministry of Education bus rules.
Last week, Nelson City Council agreed to take the suggestion to Local Government New Zealand, which represents councils nationwide, to see if there was wider support from the sector.
Mayor Nick Smith acknowledged that the change would be a “massive reform” involving hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds.
However, he thought the existing system was “cumbersome” and that councils should run the services due to their local knowledge, as well as the potential to reduce congestion and find efficiencies by integrating the services into existing public transport networks.
