The Canberra Liberals estimate more than 20 schools will lose all of their dedicated buses under the plan, which will slash more than half of school services in total in return for more public routes travelling past schools.

But in Ben's neighbourhood, the Gleneagles estate, there are just two bus routes. And while his school, Trinity Christian will retain at least one of its own dedicated buses when the network goes live in January, both services will disappear for Ben.

That will leave the community without a bus of any kind and his mother Melanie 'with no choice" but to drive her two children to school every morning.

"I'll have to change my work hours, it's going to be a drastic shift but I can't let [him] walk by himself," Ms Wilson said.

"The whole point is to get more people using the main network but they're not replacing [our bus] with a useable public route, it's just gone."

Right now, Canberra has more than 100 dedicated bus routes running to both public and private schools. Under the new network, currently open for public consultation, that number will fall to 47.

Maps of the new routes, unveiled in June, have proven difficult for many parents and schools to decipher but Transport Canberra and City Services did not provide further information to The Canberra Times on Tuesday.

A draft of the government's new school bus policy lists encouraging kids to take public transport or walk or cycle to school as its top priorities.

Under the new "service hierarchy", dedicated school buses come in last, behind 'S-trips' which will see normal routes divert past schools during drop off and pick up times, and 'hub and spoke' services which will ferry students out from interchanges.

"All public transport networks operate within contraints, which include fleet numbers, road
designs, budget and operator numbers," the draft says.

While Transport Canberra has said a number of school buses are currently under-utilised, shadow transport spokeswoman Candice Burch said families had been calling for more dedicated school buses, not less, since the start of the year.

Expecting primary school age students to walk longer distances and change buses more often was dangerous, she said, echoing concerns also raised by parents' and school associations.

Andrew Wrigley of the Association of Independent Schools of the ACT described the cuts to school services as a "foundational" change - and one set to hit private schools particularly hard, as their students tended to use buses more often and from a younger age than the public system.

"There's a lack of information on this right now," he said.

"What about the impact on the public? What about when hundreds of kids come racing out the gate to get on the bus and there's no room?"

The system ran the risk of increasing car congestion at already busy schools as parents ran out of options, he said.

But a government spokesman said Transport Canberra was confident the new network would "be much better for students", as 30 per cent more public buses travelled past schools on faster, more frequent runs.

Jenni Rickard, executive officer at the peak association for independent school parents, said suggestions that the new 'S-trip scheme' could replace school services was based on an assumption the public would avoid using those routes during school times.

"Parents are very nervous. Lots of schools are losing lots of buses but we don't have the timetabling yet," Ms Rickard said.

"Especially for younger students, they're taking away their safety net and throwing them in the deep end so to speak so a lot of parents, like me, are waiting to see what happens."

Parent Karen Kirk said she was nervous to send her 16-year-old daughter to school on the network, which would see her catching four different buses each day.

Transport Canberra director general Duncan Edghill has confirmed two dedicated customer support officers will monitor transport hubs during school times, but said thousands of students already flow through Canberra's interchanges every day.

Acting executive officer of the ACT Council of Parents and Citizens' Associations Janelle Kennard said that while parents still had a strong preference for dedicated services, the association was weighing up the new network, with a particular focus on high schoolers who make up the majority of student commuters.

She urged parents to have their say on the new bus network at yoursay.act.gov.au/rapid-bus-network, which is open for feedback until August 12.