10 Feb 2026

Manawatu parents using savings and loans for school buses

From Checkpoint, 4:31 pm on 10 February 2026

Manawatu parents and caregivers are dipping into their savings and even taking out loans in order to find a bus service to get their children to school. This comes after some school buses that used to run into Palmerston North were axed as a result of a Ministry of Education review into over 250 routes nationwide. One high school reports that 300 of its students are affected by the changes. Jimmy Ellingham has more.