Parents of Waimea and Garin College students are dismayed by a Ministry of Education (MOE) proposal which will exclude their children from a school bus service.
The Dominion Rd stop will be removed from the route in favour of an existing 80kmh location on Westdale Rd, from Term 4.
In a letter to Waimea College parents, they were told that because public transport connecting Māpua and Nelson was already available, some students in the area are ineligible for school transport assistance.
The eBus service departs from its Queen St stop, which is nearest to the college, at 2.52pm and 5.56pm. The proposal would mean that more than 100 Waimea and Garin College students based in areas like Māpua and Moutere will be devoid of a school bus.
Waimea Weekly has previously reported parents’ condemnation over the Dominion Rd bus stop located close to SH60, including its pandemonium during drop-off and pick-up with vehicles parked on the roadside while heavy vehicles frequently pass.
Concerned public said, in wet weather some students, who couldn’t be dropped off, walk across the 100kmh highway because a culvert used as a pedestrian underpass regularly floods.
The ministry held firm that the stop met its safe-siting guidelines. Parent Amber Bonny has campaigned for three years for the MOE to shift the “dangerous” bus stop to an existing, safer one at Māpua. She says the proposal, which would affect her two children, would be “making life extremely difficult”.
“It’ll just move the problem down the road, and realistically there’ll be more cars on the road again, which was something we were trying to reduce by making a bus stop within the [Māpua] village,” she says.
Another option for the affected students is a private Nelson Coachlines return service, which costs students $9 per school day.
Amber says both options could impinge attendance.
“The kids either need to leave school early to get to the 2:52pm one, [the college] won’t be impressed… it’s not great for attendance rates, and the government is going on about [improving] the attendance rates,” she says.
“[The private service] would add up quickly, especially if you have more than one [child].”
Garin College parent Angelika Baprawska, who has used the current Westdale Rd stop from Redwood Valley in 2025, says its location “poses a serious safety risk” if usage increases.
She says the stop has a narrow shoulder as a pickup area, but it could safely accommodate only three vehicles, at most.
“Being in such a remote location - where few students can realistically walk or bike - means that most will be dropped off by car,” she says.
“If more than a few families begin using this stop, parents will be left with no choice but to park along the roadside or attempt difficult u-turns while children cross live traffic to reach their cars.
“Relocating a bus stop from one dangerous location to another without meaningful safety improvements doesn’t address the core problem - it simply shifts the risk.”
Waimea College principal Fraser Hill says the ministry’s process for reviewing the route and eligibility removal for a large chunk of his students was “flawed”.
“I am strongly advocating for a resolution that restores the eligibility of all Moutere and Māpua students and ensures the safety of all students and their families when dropping off and picking them up from the service,” he says.
Fraser added the eBus cannot be considered a public transport option for his students due to its current timetable outside school hours.
Tasman District Council says it had no budget for extra bus services and “strongly” opposed the ministry’s proposal.
MOE school transport group manager James Meffan says it was reviewing the school bus routes due to a recent roading change in Nelson, which may have affected student eligibility for school transport assistance. He says the review also responds to community requests for these routes to extend into Māpua.
“This review is not being carried out due to the concerns that caregivers have raised about access to the current school bus stop at Dominion Rd,” he says.
“Our review found that there are insufficient eligible students from either school living in the vicinity of the Dominion Road bus stop, so our proposed routes do not use this stop.
“The operator may decide to pick up ineligible Waimea College students at their discretion, provided there is sufficient capacity for all students and eligible students are not disadvantaged.”
James says its contracted operator confirmed the Westdale Rd stop was fit-for-purpose on 5 June, and says students shouldn’t be expected to leave school early for the available eBus service.
“We expect that caregivers will continue to prioritise getting their children to school, regardless of whether their students are eligible for school transport assistance from the ministry,” she says.
“We are currently considering feedback from schools and caregivers on the proposed routes before finalising the outcome of the review.”
Feedback on the proposal closed on 19 June.
