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by Amanda Robinson - The Lightfoot Initiative

In Queenstown, the wheels on the bus might not be going round and round for much longer. The Ministry of Education is proposing to pull the plug on several school bus routes. It won’t just be the school bus wheels grinding to a halt, imagine an additional 1,000 car movements at morning peak, because that’s how many kids are affected. Grid lock anyone?

More than 1,000 students across the Wakatipu rely on school buses. The kids using the buses meet the Ministry’s own criteria for assistance: they live far enough from school, or there’s no “suitable public transport.” The definition of “suitable” considers frequency (how often the bus comes) but not capacity (how many spaces there are).

One Orbus route runs every 15 minutes, but most run every 30–60. And at the morning peak, the Orbus is already running at 75%+ capacity. Parents know what that means: kids will be left standing on the footpath while the public bus cruises past full.

Frequency. Capacity. Safety? Many bus stops in Queenstown are a pole on a narrow strip of footpath. This does make for a lot of fun as kids shimmy up and down them when waiting for the bus. But… safe? There’s a lack of shelter, few safe crossing points to get to the buses, and no space for the hordes of kids who’ll be waiting every morning.

Unlike school buses, public buses don’t come with the “20km/h passing” rule that slows traffic down. Kids are awesome, fun and quick thinking but forgive me for being blunt, they’re also stupid enough to dart in front of moving vehicles. All schools that currently have school buses have dedicated wait areas supervised by teachers who ensure that natural selection doesn’t win on the day.

And do we really want young kids to jostling with tradies, tourists, and tired workers? Please understand that I’m not worried about the kids… I’m worried about the adults sustaining permanent hearing loss when 40 kids surge onto a bus at full volume.

Infrastructure? The Frankton Interchange and Bus Hub is at the heart of our network and is part way through the NZUP upgrade. Traversing thousands of orange cones is difficult for adults, but near impossible for kids. Queenstown Lakes District Council hasn’t had the time to redesign stops and waiting areas. Otago Regional Council isn’t increasing capacity until 2027. Until those pieces are in place, the system simply can’t cope.

Lightfoot is calling for a pause. Let’s align changes with the promised frequency upgrades, the new interchange, and safe bus stop infrastructure.

Stay in the loop, help keep Queenstown rolling, join us at lightfoot.org.nz.