School bus services
The Bayhopper network includes a number of routes that are available across the wider Tauranga region, and are only available for use by school students.
Key points
- Dedicated school bus services are only available for use by school students
- All school students travelling on Tauranga dedicated school buses (weekdays during term time only) can travel for free.
- Children/students can also travel for free on urban buses during peak times (before 9am and 2.30pm-6pm) with a registered Bee Card. This applies on weekdays during school terms for Rotorua Cityride buses, Tauranga Bayhopper buses (excluding routes 80 and 81), and Whakatane Bayhopper route 122. To be eligible, they must tag on and off with their registered Bee Card (with child concession preloaded).
- Travel on some dedicated school buses does not require a Bee Card (and remains free) - please check to see which services this applies to.
- Dedicated school bus timetables on this website will not show in our Journey Planner function. View the full list of school bus timetables.
- Live tracking is currently not available on our school bus routes.
- These school bus services are separate from those provided to some schools by the Ministry of Educationopen_in_new.
School bus timetables
Each school bus timetable can be accessed through our timetable page.
Does my school bus route require a Bee Card?
The routes highlighted below require students to use a registered Bee Card for their travel.
Route | Schools serviced |
701a | Mount Maunganui College |
711a | Mount Maunganui College |
712a | Mount Maunganui College |
712b | Mount Maunganui Intermediate |
714 | Papamoa College |
802b | Tauranga Girls' College |
802c | Tauranga Boys' College |
803b | Tauranga Intermediate and Tauranga Girls' College |
901a | Tauranga Girls' College and Maungatapu School |
901b | Tauranga Girls' College |
902 | Tauranga Boys' College and Maungatapu School |
Route |
Schools serviced |
701 |
Aquinas College |
702 |
Aquinas College |
704a |
Aquinas College |
704b |
Aquinas College and Tauriko School |
710b |
Mount Maunganui Intermediate |
711b |
Mount Maunganui Intermediate |
713a |
Mount Maunganui College |
713b |
Mount Maunganui Intermediate |
720 |
Mount Maunganui College & Intermediate |
801a |
Tauranga Intermediate |
801b |
Tauranga Primary and St Mary's School |
802a |
Tauranga Intermediate |
720 |
Mount Maunganui College and Intermediate |
803a |
Tauranga Boys' College and St Mary's |
804a |
Tauranga Intermediate |
804b |
Tauranga Intermediate |
804c |
Tauranga Intermediate |
805 |
Tauranga Boys' College and Tauranga Girls' College |
806a |
Tauranga Boys' College |
806b |
Tauranga Girls' College |
806c |
Tauranga Intermediate and St Mary's School |
807 |
Tauranga Intermediate, Boys', Girls' and St Mary's. |
808a |
Tauranga Intermediate, Boys', Girls' and Aquinas College |
808b |
Aquinas College |
810a |
Bethlehem College |
810b |
Bethlehem College |
811 |
Bethlehem College |
812 |
Bethlehem College |
813 |
Bethlehem College |
814a |
Bethlehem College |
814b |
Bethlehem College & Tauriko School |
815 |
Bethlehem College |
816 |
Bethlehem College |
903a |
Tauranga Boys' College |
903b |
Tauranga Boys' College and Tauranga Girls' College |
903c |
Tauranga Girls' College |
903d |
Tauranga Intermediate and St Mary's School |
903e |
Tauranga Girls College, Tauranga Intermediate |
904a |
Otumoetai College and Otumoetai Intermediate |
904b |
Otumoetai College and Otumoetai Intermediate |
905a |
Otumoetai College, Otumoetai Intermediate and St Mary's School |
905b |
Otumoetai College and Otumoetai Intermediate |
906 |
Greerton Village School and Greenpark Primary School |
907 |
Otumoetai College and Otumoetai Intermediate |
920 |
Tauriko School |
Urban network student fares
Students may also use our other urban network buses to travel to school, which are open to the general public.
Bee Card
Children/students can travel for free on urban buses during peak times (before 9am, and between 2.30pm and 6pm) with a registered Bee Card.
This applies on weekdays during school terms for:
- Rotorua Cityride buses,
- Tauranga Bayhopper buses (excluding routes 80 and 81), and
- Whakatane Bayhopper route 122.
To be eligible, they must tag on and off with their registered Bee Card (with child concession preloaded).
Handy tip: we know that occasionally students do forget to tag off – this can put the Bee Card into a negative balance and the student will be unable to board again until the card is topped up. It’s a good idea to keep $5 or so loaded onto the card at all times and check from time to time that this balance is still there.
Cash fares
Cash fares are still accepted. Students should either be in school uniform or have their student ID ready to show the driver so their concession (discounted fare) can be applied on boarding.
Using the school bus services
The school bus services are only available for use by school students.
Catching the bus
Students should wait at the named bus stop around 5 minutes before the time shown on the bus timetable and signal the driver when they see the bus coming, staying well clear of the road.
While we have made every effort for our timetables to accurately show the times they will be at each stop, the buses may reach the stops earlier or later depending on traffic, the numbers of passengers getting on the bus, or due to delays because of things like roadworks. We recommend getting to stops earlier than the timetable suggests.
At this time, our school buses do not have live tracking available.
Behaviour on the bus
We expect all passengers to follow our code of conduct.
If bad behaviour is seen or experienced, we will take action.
If the bad behaviour is serious (is a major distraction to the driver or puts other passengers at risk), the student may be stood down from the bus for a period. For less serious behaviours, a student may receive a warning or be asked to sign a behaviour contract.
Keeping our passengers safe between your front door and the school gate
The journey children take to get to school is a shared responsibility between parents, the bus company, the school, Regional Council, and the child.
The bus company is responsible for providing a safe bus and a qualified bus driver. Schools will follow up on reports of disruptive behaviour or vandalism.
Parents need to make sure that their child is capable of travelling on a school bus, including knowing how to tag on and off with their Bee Card, and managing transfers between buses without assistance.
Other school bus routes and services
The information on this website only covers Bayhopper school bus routes, which are managed by Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
As well as the Bayhopper School Bus routes, some rural routes continue to be Ministry of Education funded, and other routes are funded by schools and users.
For Ministry of Education rural routes and SESTA routes, please have a look at the information on the Tauranga Transport Network Group EasyBus websiteopen_in_new or contact your school.
Lost property
For any items left on the bus, please contact the bus operator directly. You can find the information on our Lost Property page.
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 rare for this to be the case.
If you are concerned about the loading on a particular bus, please note the registration number and use the contact form on this website to let us know.
Have feedback about our school bus service?
To make a complaint, give a compliment or provide feedback about the Bayhopper School service you can call or contact us here.
If you would like to suggest a change to a stop or route, please let us know by calling us on 0800 4 BAY BUS or emailing school.transport@boprc.govt.nz and we will look into the suggestion.
You can also use the online feedback form.