Media Release

17 August, 2001

Assistance for Rural Bus Drivers

Transport Minister Mark Gosche and Associate Education Minister Marian Hobbs today announced changes to the driver licensing system which will provide financial support to some school bus drivers.

"This Government recognises that many bus drivers, especially in rural areas, do not drive for reward," said Mr Gosche.

"Rather, they are driving a school bus as a community service and many of them cannot afford to maintain their passenger licence endorsement."

At present all bus drivers pay their share of the costs to have a passenger licence endorsement. This system is based on the risk of carrying passengers rather than the amount of time spent driving and means that the cost and the prices are the same, regardless of how often someone drives a bus.

Ms Hobbs said the Government intends to provide a Crown contribution to recognise the work of many school bus drivers who work for the community and often for only a few hours each month.

"Many of these drivers, particularly those in rural areas, work part time yet under the present system they must bear full licensing costs.

"Assistance will be provided to these drivers via the Ministry of Education which will spread a subsidy among schools and operators who will then pass the subsidy onto individual drivers. The assistance will be for all those school bus routes where no public passenger services are available, most of which are in rural areas."

The assistance will be approximately $65-70 per route per year. The maximum a school bus driver could receive is about $70 a year. This is the equivalent of the proposed fee to renew a one year P endorsement. Bus contractors will be encouraged to focus the assistance on those drivers who are renewing their licence, or seeking a licence for the first time.

The Ministry of Education and the Bus and Coach Association are still finalising the details of the subsidy allocation process.