I don't mind queuing for ice cream, standing in line for a cafe table or waiting for the doctor. But I hate inching along in my car, or worse yet, practically parking on State Highway 2 in Mount Maunganui or on 15th Avenue in Tauranga because roads are clogged. I heard a comedian quip, "Remember, when you're sitting in traffic, you are traffic."
I was traffic each time I deposited my then primary-aged son at his school. On days I worked from home, I'd do the school run, then drive back to my keyboard. Now that Master 11 attends intermediate and his sister attends college, they can both ride the bus. Or cycle. We're still working on the last one, which is a tough sell when it's raining, too cold, too hot, or it's any day that includes the letter "A" (which stands for A little lazy). The darlings prefer Mum's taxi service. Or the bus.
I'd bus the kids more often if it were free. I still bristle at the $1.60 one-way student fare, which amounts to around $130 per month for two children. The Bay of Plenty Times has quoted local principals who said some students miss school because their families can't afford the cost of bussing, especially on top of uniform fees, stationery fees, donations, trip costs ...
Even parents who can afford student bus fares disadvantage everyone else when we choose instead to save a few bucks and drop children at school en route to the office. All those extra cars on our streets cost time, which equals money. Wait in the queue on Oceanbeach Rd around 8:30 on school mornings, or on Links Ave: often, either or both streets see a one-kilometre backup. Watch students play dodge-ems with arriving and departing vehicles. "Chaos at the school gate," is how an administrator at Tauranga Intermediate described it. Survey the same streets during school holidays, and it's smooth sailing.
More caregivers taxied children to schools when the Regional Council started charging for buses in early 2015. The RC had taken over from the Ministry of Education, who left the urban bussing business years ago. MOE head of Education Infrastructure Services Kim Shannon wrote in an email earlier this week, "We appreciate this has been a new cost for those families to bear. However it reflects the situation for the vast majority of students around the country. Some 650,000 students a day make their own way to school, or use public transport at their own cost." Shannon said the Ministry still runs 37 bus services in the Tauranga area (down from 43 last year) for around 2500 students not served by public transport.
