[aberdian]

OK, dumb question #74.

If you live out in the sticks, how do the kids get to school? Walk? Drive? School bus? I'm talking primary mostly, we're a few years off secondary and then they can sort themselves out ;)

I'm hoping to hear that it's easy to walk/cycle..........

[Lupin]

If you live close then of course they walk or cycle but the school buses are plentiful here. I don't think any kids get driven to our school; they're either close enough to walk or cycle or they got on one of the (free) school buses.

[katiejay]

We noticed that in the really rural towns, the schools were big compared to the size of the town. We took that to mean that children get bussed in from all around, and we saw plently of signs showing school bus routes when we were out there.

[wiki]

It does depend on how rural you mean, but free school buses are pretty much universal outside urban areas - at least from Christchurch south. One of my dad's retirement jobs is driving a school bus and he's doen so in two areas. This is for both primary and secondary.

The best thing would be to contact your preferred school and see what they say.

I grew up outside a city boundary and to get to High School used to bike for 20 mins to the local primary where all of us older kids caught a bus to a park in the middle of the city. Then when all the buses had arrived from all the outlying areas we'd split into our school groups and go off to each. The whole process was reversed afterschool. Used to take about 1hr 15mins for the whole journey, but it was all free!

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

It's not free in the cities as far as I can tell, altough I can only speak for Hamilton. There are no services at all to primary schools, so if the kids can't walk or cycle, then they have to be driven.

For intermediate/high schools there are busses laid on but they have to pay about $4 a day. They have to buy the tickets from the bus driver which means they have to carry cash on them.

If the kids get on a bus and have no ticket or no cash on thenm I'm not sure what would happen - This is a joy we will have from next year.