This week our bus driver Debbie is trialling a new bus route segment in the morning, turning right out of Grace James Rd and along Cape Hill Rd and Tuhimata Rd to school. The trial segment is marked in red on the map below.
The Bus Society needs to know how many children would catch the bus on Cape Hill Rd or Tuhimata Rd if this became an option. Please use the form below if you would like the bus to stop on Cape Hill Rd or Tuhimata Rd.
You’ll have seen a new face at the wheel of the Pukek
ohe East School bus. Debbie Courtney is our new bus driver and has a wealth of experience driving buses, 16 years to be exact. Her family business specialises in motorhome upholstery and seating and Debbie owns a 9-metre motorhome, the same length as the school bus. Recently Debbie and her husband moved to a 10-acre property on Tuhimata Rd. Debbie’s grandson Ashton Cook is in Totara class.
We’re still on the lookout for another driver to job-share with Debbie.
Click here to view the Good Sorts TV clip of Judy Shutt which aired on Sunday 7th July during ONE News at 6.
Please make a donation to help keep our special historic school bus service going. The Pukekohe East School Bus has been operating since 1946, nearly 70 years. It was the first cooperatively-owned school bus in New Zealand and is thought to be the only one left.
Fast-forward to 2013 and the children of Pukekohe East School need a larger newer bus. Our current bus is at capacity and requires ongoing costly maintenance. A larger newer second-hand model will cost $120,000. The school community is saving hard but we need outside donations to reach our target.
Our school bus is 100% self-funded; no government funding is available to us. Please make a donation to our new bus cause so that we can continue to take the children of Pukekohe East to school and back everyday. Every little bit counts, just a couple dollars will do. To make a donation click here> Thank you!
Friday was Judy Shutt’s last day driving the Pukekohe East School bus and the afternoon bus run was anything but ordinary. Seated on board the decorated bus was ONE News reporter Hadyn Jones who filmed Judy and her kids’ last ride together for his Good Sorts show. The clip will air on Sunday 7th July during ONE News at 6.
Thanks to Jenny Walter who nominated Judy for the Good Sorts slot and coordinated the filming, and to Jenni Harrison who created the terrific banner for the back of the bus.
Pukekohe East School Bus 