Catching the school bus
A DigitalNZ Story by Zokoroa
A pictorial journey about school buses in NZ from the 1900s onwards
Transport, bus, school, school bus, students, children, travelling, travel
Memory lane
Childhood memories include waiting at the end of the road to catch the school bus to our primary school. The driver would travel in a circuitous route through the farmlands picking up students on the side of the road. Nowadays when travelling by car and slowing down to pass a stationary school bus or seeing the delightful bus stop sign outside Tirau School, I'm reminded of my school days.
Early days getting to school: 1900s
First day of opening of Waitaki Boys' Junior High School. Giffin's Motor Service buses.
Waitaki District Council
Free bus service: 1924
In the 1920s, the number of country schools was reduced by setting up larger, central schools, called consolidated schools. The Education Department’s school transport policy (1924) enabled students living more than 3.2 kilometres away from their nearest school to travel for free by bus.
1 April 1924: First free school bus operated at Piopio District School
Alexander Turnbull Library
c.1924-25: Boarding Model T Ford vehicles
Alexander Turnbull Library
To school by motor-bus: the consolidation principle in operation
Auckland Libraries
Models of buses over the decades
Waiting at the bus stop
Brown Owl School 1978; after fire; children taking buses to Oxford Crescent School.
Upper Hutt City Library
School bus
mychillybin
ALL ABOARD!
On board we'd chat with one another and catch up on homework - reciting our times tables and spelling lists of words out loud were some of our activities.
End of the school day
At the end of the school day, we'd line up along the school's driveway beside the crab apple tree near the dental clinic. A teacher would check we were all present and we'd traipse on board.
Getting off the bus
School children alongside a Volkswagen Kombi school bus on a country road
NZEI Te Riu Roa (New Zealand Educational Institute)
They hear the school bus stop on the road. From the series: Washday at the pa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Bus safety
1953: Traffic regulations required vehicles to stop
Alexander Turnbull Library
DigitalNZ also has news reports about school buses involved in accidents, including the following incidents.
Further information:
- For a snapshot of operational changes over the years, see Bus & Coach Association New Zealand.
- Also see the article by Logan Moss (2006). "Boarding the School Bus" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of History, 40 (1), pp.57-74.
- For current information about bus transport, see Ministry of Education: School transport