ONLY children under the age of 12 and less than four feet tall pay half the adult fare, says the Fiji Bus Operators Association vice president Parmod Chand.
Responding to concerns raised by some Savusavu parents over payment of bus fares for kindergarten students, Mr Chand said children over the age of 12 and taller than four feet pay the adult fare.
"It doesn't mean that if children are 12 years old they qualify for the half fare. They have to be four feet and under and 12 years old then they qualify for the half fare," he said. "All my buses in Labasa have a measurement on the door and children above four feet pay the full fare."
He said children five years and under paid half fare only if accompanied by parents or an adult. Mr Chand said being in the bus industry for a long time, he noticed how parents depended on drivers to take their children to school without any adult companion.
"The parents bring their children to the roadside, stop the bus, put their children on the bus and ask the drivers to watch them and make sure they got off at a certain point.
"In those kind of cases, children will pay full fare. Parents should be responsible for their children's safety and take them to school, not the driver."