School children will be given priority on buses in the Illawarra - even if it means breaking the 12-person guidelines.
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As part of the newly introduced public transport plan to handle the return to school and work, public buses should only carry a maximum of 12 people.
This limit does not apply on school buses, but the 12-person limit will also be overlooked where school students are concerned.
READ MORE: South Coast train capacity slashed
"No school student will be turned away from public transport, even is this means physical distancing won't always be possible on dedicated school services," a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said.
"On other services, school students will be given priority over other passengers even if this means a service goes over physical distancing capacity."
No priority will be given to children not travelling to or from school on public buses.
However, it is unclear whether school children already on a public bus count towards the 12-person limit.
"If a bus driver advises a service is at the maximum reduced capacity and can't take any more customers, please respect that," a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said.
"Adults may have to wait for the next service or may choose to get off if not comfortable with how many customers are on a service."
The government has discouraged people from using public transport during the peak periods - saying those not already travelling by bus or train should look at other measures.
For school students, this means catching dedicated school buses, though the government had stated a preference for students walking or riding to school or being dropped off by their parents.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell warned those parents picking up children not to gather at the main gates of the school.
"I've seen some footage of parents congregating at the school gates," she said.
"That's not what we want. It's not the time to chat at the school gates, you have to enforce social distancing at the school gate."