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Liam Berry
[FYI request #34481 email]
25 May 2026
Tēnā koe Liam
OIA: GEMS-47675 – Information relating to the school bus transport contract
awarded to Go Bus Transport Ltd in the Manawatū–Whanganui region
Thank you for your email of 13 April 2026 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry)
requesting the following information:
I am writing pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982 to request the
following information relating to the school bus transport contract awarded to
Go Bus Transport Ltd in the Manawatu-Whanganui region.
Contract Details
1. A copy of the contract or tender agreement between the Ministry of
Education and Go Bus Transport Ltd for the provision of school
transport services in the Manawatu-Whanganui region, including the
contract term, total contract value, and annual payments.
2. The date on which Go Bus commenced services under this contract,
and the scheduled expiry date.
3. The total annual sum payable to Go Bus under the contract for each
year of the contract term.
Service Reductions
4. A list of all school bus routes in the Manawatu-Whanganui region that
have been discontinued, reduced, or modified since Go Bus assumed
the contract, including the date each change took effect.
5. The number of students affected by each route change identified in
response to question 4.
6. The total number of students in the Manawatu-Whanganui region who
were eligible for and receiving Ministry-funded school transport in the
final year of the previous provider’s contract (Uzabus/Madge
Coachlines), compared with the number currently eligible and receiving
Ministry-funded transport under Go Bus.
Wellington – National Office, PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140
Phone: +64 4 463 8000
education.govt.nz
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Financial Impact
7. The estimated cost savings, if any, realised by Go Bus as a result of the
route reductions and discontinued services identified in response to
question 4.
8. Whether the Ministry has adjusted (increased or decreased) the
payments made to Go Bus following any route reductions or service
changes. If so, please provide details of each adjustment, the date it
took effect, and the financial value.
9. If no adjustment has been made, please confirm whether Go Bus
continues to receive the full contract sum originally tendered,
notwithstanding the reduction in services.
Eligibility Policy
10. Any internal policy documents, guidelines, or directives issued to
Ministry staff (including by or to James Meffan or members of the
school transport review team) regarding the interpretation or application
of the “nearest suitable school” eligibility criterion for school bus
entitlement.
11. Any correspondence between the Ministry and Go Bus regarding the
transport of non-qualifying students on contracted school bus services.
12. Any records of the “cartwheel” or inter-school transfer arrangement
previously operated in Palmerston North, under which rural students
were collected and redistributed to their chosen schools, and any
Ministry decision or communication discontinuing this arrangement.
Previous Provider Comparison
13. The total annual sum paid to Uzabus (or Madge Coachlines) under the
previous Ministry contract for the same region, for each of the final
three years of that contract.
14. The total number of school bus routes operated under the previous
contract in its final year of operation, compared with the number
currently operated by Go Bus.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
On 11 May 2026, we refused
parts 10, 11 and 12 of your request under section 18(f)
of the Act, as the information requested cannot be made available without substantial
collation or research such as would interfere with normal operations.
In response to
part one of your request, Ministry contracts with bus operators are
commercially sensitive, so we cannot release the specific contract with our
Palmerston North bus operator. I am refusing this part of your request under
section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, to protect information where the making available of the
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information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the
person who supplied or who is the subject of the information.
However, I am able to release a copy of the contract template in full, attached at
Appendix A.
In response to
part two of your request, the start date for this contract with GoBus is
Term 1, 2022. The initial term is for six years, and there are two rights of renewal
available in the contract, each for three years.
I am refusing
part three of your request under section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, as above,
as the total annual sum payable to GoBus is commercially sensitive.
In response to
part four of your request, please see a list of discontinued, reduced or
modified school bus routes in the Manawatū-Whanganui region from Term 1 2022 to
13 April 2026 below as
Appendix B.
In response to
parts five and six of your request, the Ministry does not use an
onboarding or ticketing service for school bus services that it contracts or funds. For
this reason, we do not collect detailed patronage data, except through ad hoc manual
patronage audits. I am therefore refusing this part of your request under section 18(g)
of the Act, as the information is not held by the Ministry, and I have no grounds for
believing that it is either held by, or more closely connected to the functions of,
another department or organisation subject to the Act.
However, from Term 1, 2026, our bus routes in the Manawatū–Whanganui region
have been designed to support 3,758 students.
In response to
part seven of your request, the Ministry does not hold financial or
commercial information for GoBus. I am therefore refusing this part of your request
under section 18(g) of the Act, as above. I suggest that you approach GoBus directly
for this information.
Regarding
parts eight and nine of your request, details of the payment adjustment
mechanism can be found in clause 127, and Schedules 4 and 6 of the contract
template. Financial details of each adjustment are commercially sensitive, so I am
refusing these parts of your request under section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, as above.
I am refusing
part 13 of your request under section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, as above, as
payments to bus operators, past or present, are commercially sensitive.
As required under section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered the public interest in
releasing the information withheld. I do not consider that the public interest
considerations favouring the release of this information are sufficient to outweigh the
need to withhold it at this time.
In response to
part 14 of your request, when the contract changed at the start of
2022, a reclassification of all regions and routes throughout New Zealand was
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implemented. This means that we are unable to provide a like-for-like comparison, so
I am refusing this part of your request under section 18(g) of the Act, as above.
I am able to provide the total number of Ministry-contracted daily school bus routes
operating across the country at the start of Term 1 2022 (1,438). At the start of
Term 1 2026, there were 1,392 Ministry-contracted daily school bus routes operating
across the country.
Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five working days.
Your name and contact details will be removed.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review
my decision on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do
this by writing to [email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman,
PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
James Meffan
General Manager, School Transport
Te Mahau | Education Services
education.govt.nz
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Appendix B
Table: School bus routes in the Manawatū–Whanganui region that have been
created, discontinued, reduced, or modified, 1 January 2022-13 April 2026
Route
Change type Effective date
D080603
Lengthened
6/02/2023
D080203
Shortened
3/03/2023
D080420
Shortened
9/03/2023
D080417
New
29/05/2023
D080105
Shortened
6/06/2023
D080312
Lengthened
1/01/2024
D080422
New
1/02/2024
D080201
Lengthened
29/04/2024
D080315
New
1/01/2025
D080413
Lengthened
1/03/2025
D080213
Shortened
28/06/2025
D080601
Shortened
14/07/2025
D080301
Cancelled
19/09/2025
D080506
Merged
19/09/2025
D080311
Shortened
6/10/2025
D080312
Shortened
6/10/2025
D080501
Lengthened
6/10/2025
D080204
Merged
31/12/2025
D080206
Cancelled
31/12/2025
D080211
Merged
31/12/2025
D080409
Merged
31/12/2025
D080203
Lengthened
1/01/2026
D080205
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080207
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080208
Lengthened
1/01/2026
D080209
Lengthened
1/01/2026
D080210
Lengthened
1/01/2026
D080212
Lengthened
1/01/2026
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Route
Change type Effective date
D080213
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080215
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080217
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080218
Lengthened
1/01/2026
D080219
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080221
Lengthened
1/01/2026
D080222
Cancelled
1/01/2026
D080224
Cancelled
1/01/2026
D080225
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080226
Lengthened
1/01/2026
D080227
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080228
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080229
Cancelled
1/01/2026
D080230
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080231
Lengthened
1/01/2026
D080234
New
1/01/2026
D080235
New
1/01/2026
D080412
Shortened
1/01/2026
D080236
New
1/01/2026
D080205
Shortened
16/03/2026
D080234
Shortened
16/03/2026
Notes:
• Excludes changes not yet implemented
• Covers the entire Manawatū–Whanganui School Transport region, including
(but not limited to) services operated by Go Bus
• Routes with multiple changes during the period may appear more than once
• Excludes contractual amendments to routes that do not impact students
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