The Government's decision to switch taxi companies used to transport special-needs children to and from school has been labelled 'a shambles” and 'unprepared” by one Tauranga principal.

At the end of last year the Government decided to change taxi companies in Tauranga, central Auckland, the North Shore, Whangarei and South Auckland through a tender process.

Kaka Street Special School principal Barrie Wickens with Teacher Aid & Go Bus driver Glennis Bell and seven-year-old Areeb Umayr. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Education, who pay for taxis to and from school for some special-needs students, admitted up to 400 special-needs students have been placed at risk following the decision.

Kaka Street Special School principal Barrie Wickens says the school has been faced with ongoing concerns since the changeover in companies at the beginning of the school term, on February 4, which he says the school was not informed about.

'Have we got concerns? Yes, it has been a shambles since day one. Basically after 11 school days things are finally starting to settle down.

Barrie says the Government's decision meant Tauranga Mount Taxis lost the contract to an Auckland based company Alert Taxis, which has since sub-contracted the job to New Zealand Taxis.

'Alert Taxis were not prepared. There was no official information that they were awarded the contract and we have not received a list of the children they are transporting.”

Of the school's 63 special-needs students aged between five and 21-years-old, 10 are transported by the taxi company.

Barrie says since the changeover some children have not been picked up, and the company did not have enough vehicles to accommodate the school. He also says they have had reports of the children running from the taxi when they are picked up.

Barrie says the school did not receive any information regarding the changeover in companies, or about the exact level of understanding the drivers have for catering for special-needs children.

The student's being collected suffer from Cerebral Palsy, brain damage and Rett's Syndrome, while some also have communication or hearing disorders, visual impairments and intellectual disabilities.

Barrie has met twice with the company's Waikato/Bay of Plenty manager Andy Collins to sort out the problem, but admits he will continue to ask for regular meetings before reviewing the issue after six weeks.

'We will be working very closely with the families, the drivers and their managers because they have created a shambles to start with and have created many unknowns about what skills they have.”

New Zealand's leading disability services provider CCS Disability Action says the changeover of school transport providers has disadvantaged students with special needs.

CCS Disability Action chief executive David Matthews says he is aware of several problems with the changes across the country and the process has been unacceptable.

'Students may have missed out on school and been transported unsafely because of recent changes in providers.

'This is quite frankly unacceptable. This process should have been a positive one where the Ministry ensured that all new providers are using fully accessible vehicles to provide for current and future need.

'Whatever is going on behind the scenes needs to be managed. Students should not be disadvantaged by a change of providers. At the end of the day, the focus should be on the student. It is simply not acceptable for any students to miss out on school or have their access to school compromised.”

David hoped the Ministry of Education and transport providers had learnt from the experience.

'In many cases, existing providers and drivers had good relationships with students and their families. This should have been taken into account in the re-tendering process.

'The Government also needs to learn that when tendering, there are often wider costs and challenges which they need to take into account.”

Waikato/Bay of Plenty manager Andy was unable to be reached for comment by SunLive today.