Ethan Hepper (right), pictured with fellow student Kael McFarlane, has been told to get an ACC-funded taxi because he doesn't qualify for the school bus on their rural road. Photo: NZ Herald/Sylvie WhinrayA boy who has been barred from a school bus by a 117-year-old distance rule has been told to apply for an ACC-funded taxi instead. His son Ethan, 13, caught the school bus to primary school, but no longer qualifies for it this year because he has now started at college. "We obviously don't want to waste taxpayer money like this, when a perfectly good half-full school bus stops at our driveway anyway, but it is a perfect example of the bureaucratic lunacy that this country is plagued by," he said. The school transport rules do not allow exemptions from the 4.8km rule if students are on ACC.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 11, 2021 03:45 UTC