Bailey Tobin-Collins (front) and Ruby Foote from Taradale High at a public bus stop in Taradale. They want to see the timetables changed. Photo / Paul Taylor
Bailey Tobin-Collins (front) and Ruby Foote from Taradale High at a public bus stop in Taradale. They want to see the timetables changed. Photo / Paul Taylor
Students who rely on public transport to attend a Napier high school are being left with a “huge wait” before and after school following a controversial bus change.
Some students who attend Taradale High School are being left with 45 minutes to kill on either side of the school day,due to recent GoBay bus timetable changes.
Students and parents say the timetable shake-up is impacting on after-school work commitments, NCEA studies, and even causing safety concerns.
The school itself has contacted the regional council about the issue and the council says it is working on “a potential resolution” which could take effect from Term 4 in October.
Taradale High School has school buses which operate inside its school zone, but students who live outside the school zone rely on other modes of transport such as public buses.
Taradale High Year 12 students Bailey Tobin-Collins and Ruby Foote, both 16, travel to school from Onekawa and Napier South respectively each day and rely on public GoBay buses.
The timetable change means - unless they want to get to school late - they have to catch an earlier bus around 7.30am instead of the previous 8am bus.
Bailey Tobin-Collins (front) and Ruby Foote from Taradale High are hoping the timetables will be changed back. Photo / Paul Taylor
They now get to school early around 8am with 45 minutes of waiting around before school starts.
“Our school gates are always open - we don’t have a closed-off gate at our school - but we are all standing outside,” Bailey said.
“There are not really any classrooms that are open.”
The school confirmed the school library is open from 8am, and Bailey said that would be the only place they could congregate out of the weather.
“I know that they can’t just revolve everything around the students because it is public transport, but [we would like] to see it change back to an 8am bus or to have another bus that runs at the normal time that it used to,” Bailey said.
She said there was also a long wait after school, as their bus left Taradale at 4pm rather than 3.30pm now.
“The buses are now at 3 and 4 rather than 3.30 and 4.30, and we finish school at 3.15pm.”
She said it had affected her work commitments after school and was problematic for students leading up to NCEA exams.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council group manager policy and regulation Katrina Brunton said they had been contacted by concerned community members about the timetable changes, and the impact on Taradale High.
“We are currently working with GoBay to identify what opportunities there are for a potential resolution,” she said.
“Driver availability remains a key issue.
“GoBay is actively recruiting more drivers and we hope to be able to confirm a change to the timetable at the start of Term 4 on 9th October.”
She said the recent timetable changes were designed to “best align with Taradale and Napier passengers wanting to get to Hawke’s Bay Hospital” including to better service staff and patients.
Taradale High parent Sarah Glass said it was concerning for a parent to have their child waiting around before and after school for long periods.
“For sole parents that is a massive issue. If they don’t want their kids hanging around alone they are going to have to work around how they are going to get their kids to and from school, as well as working.”
She said while servicing the hospital was important in terms of public buses, getting students to school at reasonable times should remain a priority.
She said parents had their children in out-of-zone schools for a wide range of reasons including the instability of the rental market.
She said having “a huge wait at either end” of the school day could also result in some students loitering around shops to kill time.
