School buses
Find everything you need for school bus travel in Taranaki with Te Pahi. View routes, timetables, fares and departure points and get helpful information for a safe and reliable journey to and from school.
Te Pahi has dedicated school bus services that are only available for use by school students. These run during the school term only.
Students must have Bee Cards to pay for their bus and remember to tag on and off.
Our school bus services are separate from those provided by the Ministry of Education (MoE) to some schools. If your child uses a MoE bus, contact the school for information.
It's important to note that the timings listed in the timetables are approximate. We recommend arriving at your bus stop 10-15 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
Our Journey Planner tool is not available for school bus routes.
School bus passenger numbers
By law a Loading Certificate must be displayed on the front windscreen of the bus, which details the number of primary and secondary students it can carry. Bus companies can receive a fine for exceeding their loading limit, so although a bus may look overcrowded, it is unlikely to be the case.
If you are concerned about loading on a particular bus, please note the registration number and use the contact form on this website to let us know.
More information about school buses
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Behaviour on the bus
To ensure the safety of passengers, drivers and other road users all students are required to comply with our Code of Conduct.arrow_forward -
Lost property
If items are left on the bus, please contact the bus operator directly through our lost property page.arrow_forward
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about your child’s school bus? You’ll find answers to the most commonly asked questions below.
Our school buses service 10 Taranaki schools, namely Devon Intermediate, Francis Douglas Memorial College, Highlands Intermediate, Inglewood High School, New Plymouth Boys’ High School, New Plymouth Girls’ High School, Sacred Heart Girls’ College, Spotswood College, Stratford High School and Waitara High School. Visit our school timetables page and select your child’s school to view available routes, maps and timetables.
You can also track your bus in real time.
Some schools are served by a mix of services. The buses you’ve seen may be part of the Te Pahi New Plymouth urban network or services run by the Ministry of Education.
Te Pahi urban buses are open to the public and may be an option for your child. You can view routes, maps and timetables here.
If the service is a Ministry of Education (MoE) school bus, you’ll need to check directly with MoE for eligibility and route detailsopen_in_new.
Fares depend on how many zones your child travels, how they pay and whether their Bee Card is registered.
Using a registered Bee Card is the cheapest option. Children aged 5–18 with a youth concession applied will receive discounted fares.
Visit our fares page for a full breakdown of zones and prices.
Visit our Bee Card page for instructions on how to register your child’s Bee Card.
No - your child can pay with cash. However, using a registered Bee Card means they’ll get the cheapest fare, including the youth concession.
Visit our Bee Card page for instructions on how to register your child’s Bee Card.
Yes, cash is accepted on school buses. Please note that cash fares are higher than Bee Card fares.
We recommend having the correct fare or small change, as drivers may not be able to provide change.
Yes — another student can tag on twice using their Bee Card.
The second trip will be charged at the full (non-concession) adult fare, as only one youth concession can be applied per card at a time.
Your child should wait at the bus stop where they can be clearly seen by the driver.
If they are inside a shelter or not visible from the road, the driver may not see them.
For virtual stops, wait near the location shown on the map. Make sure your child signals clearly to the driver by waving as the bus approaches.
A virtual bus stop is a designated place where students can safely get on and off the bus, even though there is no physical sign or shelter.
We recommend arriving 10 -15 minutes before the scheduled time.
You can also track your child’s bus in real time using the Live Tracking feature on the timetable page.
The bus may be delayed due to traffic or other circumstances. Use Live Tracking to check where the bus is.
If you’re unable to locate the service, please call us on 0800 233 872.
We’ll do our best to help.
Visit the Lost Property section on our website and provide details about the bus service. We’ll pass this on to the right team to help reunite your child with their item as quickly as possible.
Visit the School Bus Departure Points section on our website to view maps showing where buses leave from each school.
All students must follow our Code of Conduct.
If a student behaves in a way that distracts the driver, puts others at risk, or causes damage, action may be taken. This could include warnings, a behaviour agreement, or being stood down from the bus.
Service updates and disruptions are shared on our Alerts page.
We recommend checking this regularly and filtering by school buses to stay up to date.
In most cases, services will run as usual if it is safe to do so.
Any changes or cancellations will be listed on our Alerts page.
Standard school bags and small sports gear that fit under the seat are welcome.
Larger items, such as sports equipment or scooters, may be stored in under-bus lockers on some services. Please ask the driver for help.
You can contact the Te Pahi team by:
- Calling 0800 233 872
- Emailing info@tepahi.govt.nz
- Filling out the form on our Contact Us page