Lessons to be learned from school bus incident: police

The driver refused to stop before reaching the far side of Huia and then doubling back. FIle photo / NZ Herald

Education and bus company officials will meet in Auckland today after a police investigation into an incident in which children jumped off a moving school bus that wouldn't stop.

The meeting is to discuss a police report which has found no evidence of criminal or traffic offending, but concluded that the incident was the result of a combination of factors from which there are lessons to be learned.

That finding was welcomed last night by Ritchies Transport director Andrew Ritchie, who said some school bus runs might need extra help in the form of adult supervisors travelling with large numbers of children.

The incident two weeks ago, in which a double-decker Ritchies bus went 10km without stopping through the Waitakere Ranges in blustery weather, ended with a teenage boy from Green Bay High School in Starship hospital with a foot injury from jumping out at Huia.

Glen Eden Intermediate children were also on board.

Furious parents called for action against the relief driver, who is understood to have become angry when some of the 60 or so children on board kept their fingers on buzzers after he missed their stop at Parau, and refused to stop before reaching the far side of Huia and then doubling back.

Sergeant Brett Campbell-Howard of the Waitemata road policing unit said last night that officers had concluded there was no evidence of criminal offending or breaches of the Land Transport Act.

But Green Bay High principal Morag Hutchinson indicated the report would be discussed at today's meeting between representatives of both schools involved, the Ministry of Education and the bus company.

One parent said she "didn't think there is anywhere else to go with it", now the police had completed their investigation.

"The schools will sort out what they can, until the next time - they [Ritchies] have a monopoly so I can't see anything changing very much."

Mr Ritchie said he hoped today's meeting would clear the way for the driver to resume normal duties, but acknowledged there was room for improvement in how school passengers were managed.