The Ministry of Education says student eligibility guidelines on bus routes in Dunedin have not changed, despite the community saying otherwise.
Ministry officials attended a community meeting on Saturday along with the Labour Party's Dunedin North MP, David Clark.
Mr Clark says some students living out of the city are being excluded from a free bus service and parents are facing huge travel costs because of what he says are changes to eligibility for the service.
Otago Boys' High School principal Clive Rennie says the ministry is policing bus services for school students living outside cities, denying them the traditional free service.
The ministry says that is not the case and routes are regularly reviewed because school populations change.
It says it will take time to consider any issues that were raised at the meeting.
