40655 (2025). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Education

40655 (2025). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Education: What was the cost for Government funded school transport between Ashhurst and Palmerston North for the 2024/2025 financial year?

Hon Erica Stanford: Corrected reply: School transport services are provided by private contractors who operate in a competitive market. Disclosing detailed cost information, especially annual contract pricing, could undermine the integrity of future tender processes by revealing commercially sensitive data. Releasing this information could: • Distort market competition, as competitors may use disclosed pricing to undercut bids or gain unfair advantage. • Reduce incentives for innovation and quality, as providers may be less willing to invest in service improvements if their proprietary cost structures are exposed. • Compromise negotiation leverage for the Ministry, potentially leading to higher costs for taxpayers in future contracts. Publicly available financial information on School Transport Assistance can be found at Vote Education - Vol 2 Education Sector - The Estimates of Appropriations 2025/26 - Budget 2025. Pages 49-51 provides the breakdown of budget across the various School Transport assistance services.