The primary responsibility for transporting children to and from school or their school bus stop rests with their parents and caregivers. You are best placed to decide the safest way to do this.

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

If your child is ineligible for school transport assistance#

If your child is ineligible for school transport assistance, your school may consider setting up a private charter ‘user pays’ school bus service for their ineligible students. As this would be a private arrangement, the Ministry is unable to influence any terms of agreement or fares that may be charged.

Other transport options that schools and caregivers may wish to explore if their students are ineligible for school transport assistance include:

• using public transport (where available)
• carpooling
• investigating whether a local bus operator would consider running a commercial school bus service.

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.

Requesting a review of eligibility#

You can request a review of an eligibility decision by emailing the School Transport team.

Email: [email protected]

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 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 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.

Children who attend a kura that receive funding through the Māori-medium school transport assistance scheme are not eligible for a conveyance allowance. 

How to apply#

You can apply for the 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. 

If your child’s residential address and/or itinerary changes, we need to know. Your school will need to submit a request to change this information on your behalf.

For all other changes, including if your child no longer needs a conveyance allowance, you must tell us using the email address below.

Email: [email protected]