As a school bus driver of some 30 years, some in your fair city, I offer my opinion re the ongoing, now delayed, fiasco with council decisions regarding bus deployment for students in the Tauranga greater area.

All remark how much easier the traffic is during school holidays. Hence to encourage use, all school transport must be free.

To aid further efficiency I suggest that the buses be targeted at the various pupils supplying suburbs e.g. Matapihi has three bus companies picking up and delivering students which is funded by the Ministry of Education, user pays and Matapihi School.

Solution? Only one bus picks up all students travelling out of the area. The driver's responsibility is then to deliver those students to all and whatever education establishment in the greater area they are studying at. When the pattern is established, if more than one bus is required the ‘run' can be divided. The driver responsible then knows where the afternoon pick-up is required to return pax ‘home'.

Don't run the service too early, but do run strictly to a timetable. Run it too early and the pax won't travel by bus. Mum and Dad will still take them to school, clogging the roads as we have now.

A Baker, Morrinsville.