Rules for catching a school bus

All Northern Territory (NT) primary, middle and senior schools students can use the school bus network to travel to and from school.

To help ensure that bus travel is safe and enjoyable, everyone must follow the code of conduct.

Code of conduct

The code of conduct is a set of guidelines for students, schools, parents and carers to follow.

Rules outlined on the code of conduct include:

  • Parents and carers are not allowed to travel on school buses.
  • If you're a parent or carer, you must ensure your child is capable of travelling alone on school buses.
  • Children should be able to identify their own bus stop or drop-off location before they are allowed to travel on the bus.
  • Follow all directions specified by the NT Chief Health Officer (CHO) as required.

The code also includes rules and information for bus operators and drivers.

If you're a parent or a carer, you should discuss the code with your child so they clearly understand what they should and shouldn't do when travelling on a school bus.

Read the code of conduct for school bus travel.

Code of conduct for school bus travel PDF (1.1 MB)
Code of conduct for school bus travel DOCX (302.2 KB)

Parents and carers should also read road safety information for parents.

If you live in a rural area, you might need to use an informal bus stop to catch a public or school bus.

Informal bus stops are not official or signposted. They are locations identified as a safe place for a bus to stop.

Find out more about catching a bus in a rural area.

For the safety of students, standing in school buses is allowed on certain routes only.

Students should use seats and seatbelts where available.

Sometimes a school bus is full. When this happens, your child won't be able to board and:

  • if supervised by an adult, they will have to wait for the next bus
  • if not supervised by an adult, the bus driver will remain at the bus stop until a solution is found.

Your child will not be left at a bus stop without supervision.

For more information, read the standing on buses policy PDF (65.3 KB).

CCTV cameras operate on all school buses, bus interchanges and park and ride facilities.

Customer feedback and complaints about CCTV systems can be made by submitting a feedback form on the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics website.

For more information, read the public and school bus CCTV systems policy PDF (718.3 KB).

Contact

For general bus enquiries or feedback:

You can also submit your feedback on the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics website.

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