Children's bus shelter stolen

A bus shelter given to Te Pohue School through the Totalspan Undercover Kids Bus Shelter Programme has been stolen.

The bus shelter has been on Glengarry Road on State Highway 2 between Napier and Taupo for two years, but disappeared over the weekend.

Totalspan Hawkes Bay franchisee Brian Middleton says the bus shelter was in place on Friday night, but gone on Sunday.

“We can’t believe it,” he says. “It sat on a very prominent site with thousands of cars going past and was bolted down with eight screw bolts into a concrete pad. I feel sorry for the children – they’ll have got wet today, because it’s raining.”

Te Pohue School principal Sue Cuthbert says she’s shocked the shelter has gone.

“I think it’s shocking that someone could do something so unfair to children,” she says. “The bus shelter is regularly used by about ten children. It keeps them warm, dry and safe while they wait for the bus. It’s just bizarre that someone would take that away from them.”

Brian Middleton says Totalspan will replace the shelter free of charge as soon as possible.

“The Totalspan Undercover Kids Bus Shelter programme is all about keeping Kiwi kids safe while they wait for the bus to rural schools. We want to keep the children of Te Pohue School safe again,” he says.


ENDS


Background:

Totalspan is New Zealand's leading manufacturer of steel buildings and is part of Spanbild New Zealand Ltd, which has been operating in this country for more than 30 years.

The Undercover Kids Bus Shelter Programme was launched in 2008 and so far has given 194 bus shelters to children who wait for school buses in rural areas. This year’s application round has closed and 100 more shelters will be awarded next month.


Key points about the shelters:
· Steel structure and cladding, from best quality steel designed to withstand NZ conditions
· Designed to protect rural children from the elements and passing traffic
· Provide a safe environment to wait
· Designed for high visibility (so waiting passengers can be seen by a bus driver)
· Designed for safety
· Seating
· 1.565m x 2.325m footprint