The School Bus Service Eligibility Guidelines set out how school bus routes and timetables should be designed and planned.

When we receive requests to add new school bus services or vary existing school bus services, we use the School Bus Service Guidelines to make a decision.

There are seven key principles to school bus network design, summarised below. See the full guidelines for complete text.

1. Active travel like walking and cycling is encouraged for short trips.
2. School bus services connect eligible students with the nearest appropriate school.
3. Year 11 and 12 students can use school bus services to continue their education at the same school or a specialist college.
4. Eligible non-government school students can access general access public transport services.
5. Student transport assistance will be applied in a cost effective and equitable manner.
6. School bus operators must provide safe and high quality services to eligible students.
7. School bus services will be matched to needs, taking urban and rural differences into account.

Overview

The Department for Education, Children and Young People and the Department of State Growth reviewed seatbelts and standing up on school buses. To do this we considered

• how school bus standards could be improved
• how to promote safe behaviour around buses
• policies in other Australian states and territories
• existing reseach on school bus safety.

The School Bus Safety booklet shares what we learned.

Download the School Bus Safety booklet (PDF 193KB) or read the contents below.

What we learned

Buses are safe

• School buses are very safe.
• There is no record or information of which the Department is aware of any child fatalities when travelling on a school bus.
• A survey of statistics over 20 years shows there are very few injuries to passengers on school buses in Tasmania.
• School buses are the safest way to get to school.

Buses are different from cars

• The community has extensive experience of road safety campaigns emphasising the importance and effectiveness of seatbelts in cars, but there has been no such campaign raising awareness of the alternative safety features in buses.
• Buses in Australia have significant built-in safety mechanisms, including strong, closely spaced seats with energy-absorbing seatbacks which act like protective envelopes around passengers and stronger bodies that protect passengers in impact crashes.
• Passengers in large buses are in a higher sitting position in relation to the road and the larger vehicle mass lowers the inertia in the event of a crash meaning better safety outcomes.

Seat belts aren’t a straightforward solution

• Bus safety features and seat belts don’t always work well together. Most school buses have seats that aren’t suitable for installing seat belts, for instance, lower seatbacks mean the use of lap seat belts can increase the severity of head and neck injuries.
• Seat belts only work if they are worn. We also know a seat belt must be fitted correctly to be effective, and if they are not fitted correctly, they can result in significant neck, spinal, and internal injuries.
• A booster seat may be required for children to safely use a seat belt, raising additional challenges for safe and prompt boarding, fitting of the booster seat to the bus, and storage of the booster seat when not in use.

Standing on buses is a normal practice across Australia

• Buses rated for standing must meet strict safety and structural requirements. This includes additional safety features such as handgrips, and generally, buses allowing standing are bigger.
• Having standing passengers on a bus does not mean it is overcrowded, or that passengers stand for the entire journey.
• Usually, passengers may have to stand for five to 10 minutes, or they have chosen to stand to be near their friends.
• Standing on buses is especially likely where a school is perceived to be highly attractive and results in out of area enrolments.
• Further work is planned to examine the extent of standing on school buses when travelling on high-speed sections of the road network.

3 for 2 seating is safe and effective

• ‘3 for 2 seating’ is where three children are seated on two adult seats. Up until recently the age limit for this was children under the age of 12.
• Having three children to two seats on school buses is a normal and safe practice.
• Availability of 3 for 2 seating decreases the need for standing passengers.
• All jurisdictions apart from South Australia allow 3 for 2 seating on dedicated school buses.
• There is no research available showing 3 for 2 seating results in more injuries to school children.
• However, there is evidence that children today are growing faster than previous generations. Bus seating would be more comfortable for passengers if the age limit for 3 for 2 seating was lowered. From June 2023, the age limit for 3 for 2 seating has been changed to children under 10.

Off bus safety is paramount

• The most dangerous part of a child’s bus trip to school is when they are crossing the road, or near other vehicles before boarding or disembarking the bus.
• Research shows that children (particularly those less than eight years old) are unpredictable and cannot accurately estimate the approach time of vehicles.
• Children and parents need to understand the dangers of crossing the road when cars and other vehicles are around and how important it is to be careful around bus stops.
• In the years between 2017 and 2022, 22 children aged between four and 15 years were injured as pedestrians in school zones as a result of coming into contact with vehicles.
• Tragically, there have also been two fatalities prior to 2014 resulting from vehicles hitting students after they disembarked from buses.
• Given the importance of off bus safety, school zones have 40 km/h speed limits, and all buses dropping off and picking up school children are required to have flashing lights that activate when they are stopping or stopped, and drivers must travel at no more than 40 km/h around them.

Changes we have made and are proposing

We can make improvements to keep school buses safe and comfortable.

On the bus

• Seat belts will continue to be required on small school buses as they don’t have all the same safety benefits as large buses.
• More work will be undertaken to examine the extent of standing on school buses when travelling on high-speed sections of the road network.
• 3 for 2 seating will continue to be allowed on school buses but the age limit has been lowered from children up to 12 years to those up to 10 years making for a more comfortable journey.

Off the bus

• As the most dangerous part of the trip to school for students in Tasmania and across Australia is when they are around roads off the bus, one way to make children safer during their journey to school is through safety education campaigns.
• It is important to ensure that students, parents, and drivers don’t become complacent about safety around areas where children might be near roads.
• We are examining whether technology can further drive behavioural change around buses.

Contact information

Passenger Transport
Mail: GPO Box 536 Hobart TAS 7001 Australia
Email: ptfeedback@stategrowth.tas.gov.au
Phone: 03 6166 3343

We contract bus operators to deliver school bus services. In these contracts, we set the routes and timetables a bus operator must follow.

There are two kinds of bus stops

• Formal bus stops are listed in the bus operator contract.
• Informal bus stops are not listed in the bus operator contract.

Bus operators must stop at any formal bus stops on a route they travel.

Bus operators can choose to stop at informal stops on a route if

• The area is safe to stop.
• The area is on the route – not before the route begins or after the route ends.
• The area is more than 200m from a formal bus stop.

Contact Passenger Transport to request a

• new service
• change to an existing service
• change to a formal bus stop

To request a change to an informal bus stop, contact your bus operator directly.

To contact Passenger Transport:

• email ptfeedback@stategrowth.tas.gov.au
• call (03) 6166 3343 (9am to 5pm weekdays).

We will assess if your request meets the School Bus Service Eligibility Guidelines.

The Passenger Conduct Code for School Bus Services (the Code) sets out the expected standards of behaviour for students when using a bus. It also provides guidance and processes for bus operators and drivers to follow when a student breaches the Code.

Learn more about the Passenger Conduct Code for School Bus Services.

Duty of Care

Duty of care over students applies to the

• Bus operator – when the student is on board the bus.
• School – when the students is at school, including in the afternoon before the student has boarded the bus.
• Parent/carer – at all other times, including while waiting at the bus stop or transferring between services.

When you provide personal information to the Department of State Growth, the Department of State Growth (we) manage that information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act 2004.

When you apply for a student bus pass we use your personal information to

• Assess if you are eligible for travel assistance.
• Cross-check if you are eligible for other types of travel assistance.
• Manage your participation in travel assistance programs.

If you provide incomplete or incorrect information, it may affect how we assess your application, or properly maintain your records.

We may also use the information for related purposes, or disclose it to third parties in circumstances allowed for by law such as Services Australia (Centrelink).

You have the right to access your personal information by request to the Department and you may be charged a fee for this service.

See below for where to submit feedback or a complaint about a school bus service.

Passenger Transport

Contact us if your feedback or complaint is about the way the service is designed. For example:

• routes and timetables
• fares
• bus stops, signage and shelters
• general safety concerns
• an unsatisfactory response from a bus operator

To contact Passenger Transport:

• email ptfeedback@stategrowth.tas.gov.au
• call (03) 6166 3343 (9am to 5pm weekdays).

Operator

Contact the operator of your service if your feedback or complaint is about the way the service is delivered. For example:

• early or late running
• bus capacity
• lost property
• passenger behaviour
• driver behaviour.

If your feedback or complaint is about student behaviour on the bus such as bullying, consider contacting your school as well.

Tasmania Police

Contact Tasmania Police if your complaint is about a serious offence or crime:

• in an emergency call 000
• for non-emergencies call 131 444.