HIDOE restores 34 suspended school bus routes on O‘ahu, Maui and Hawai‘i Island, service resumes Monday, Aug. 12
Service is being restored for approximately 1,200 student riders enrolled at 23 schools.
News Release from DoE, 08-Aug-2024
HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HIDOE) announced today that 34 previously suspended school bus routes across three islands will be reinstated starting Monday, Aug. 12, thanks to ongoing efforts to address the statewide bus driver shortage. Service is being restored for approximately 1,200 student riders enrolled at 23 schools.
In partnership with its contractor, Ground Transport Inc., the HIDOE has secured additional drivers and buses through a new direct contract with Roberts Hawaii. This week-to-week arrangement, enabled by Gov. Josh Green’s emergency proclamation, will continue until Ground Transport can fully restore services on all impacted routes.
The following school bus routes in Central Oʻahu, Central and Upcountry Maui, and East and South Hawaiʻi Island will resume service, effective Monday, Aug. 12. Twenty-nine of the 34 restored routes will be serviced by Roberts and five restored routes will be serviced by Ground Transport.
O‘AHU
ʻAiea-Moanalua-Radford Complex Area: 5 routes
- ʻAiea Intermediate - HR06A
- Aliamanu Middle - HR10A/HR10B, HR15A
- Alvah Scott Elementary - HR04A
- Moanalua Middle - HR21B
Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex Area: 5 routes
- Haleiwa Elementary - CR21A and Waialua Elementary - CR22A*
- Leilehua High - CR08B and Wahiawa Middle - CR08A*
- Mililani Middle - CR03A/CR03B, CR07A/CR07B
- Wheeler Middle - CR10A/CR10B
HAWAI‘I ISLAND
Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area: 5 routes
- Hilo Intermediate - TR07A
- Hilo Intermediate - TR02A, Hilo High - TR02A, Kapiolani Elementary - TR02B*
- Hilo High - TR08A
- Hilo Union Elementary - TR03B and Hilo High - TR03A*
- Kaʻumana Elementary - TR09A, TR09B
Ka‘ū-Keaʻau-Pāhoa Complex Area: 9 routes
- Ka‘ū High & Pāhala Elementary - SR05A, SR05B
- Keaʻau Elementary - SR26A, SR26B*
- Keonepoko Elementary - SR15A, SR15B*
- Mountain View Elementary - SR34A
- Naʻalehu Elementary - SR01A, SR02A, SR03A
- Pāhoa Elementary - SR08A and Pāhoa High and Intermediate - SR08B*
MAUI
Baldwin-Kekaulike-Kūlanihākoʻi-Maui Complex Area: 10 routes
- Kalama Intermediate - UR13A, UR15A, UR25A, UR30A, UR31A
- Kekaulike High - UR13A, UR15A, UR25A, UR29A, UR31A
*Routes have been consolidated.
Parents and guardians of students affected by the route restorations will be notified directly of these updates along with information on requesting refunds for bus passes.
“We understand how crucial reliable transportation is for our students and their families, and we are committed to doing everything possible to restore these bus routes quickly in working with our contractors. Our top priority is ensuring that students have safe, dependable access to school. We are grateful for the ongoing support from Governor Green and our county leaders as we work to resolve this situation and get all of our students back on the bus,” Superintendent Keith Hayashi said.
Efforts to restore the remaining suspended bus routes are ongoing. Superintendent Hayashi has formally requested assistance from the Hawaiʻi National Guard to support student transportation needs. Additionally, HIDOE has been collaborating with the mayors of Hawaiʻi, Maui, and Honolulu counties to increase capacity on public transportation routes that students can use to get to and from school.
Ground Transport is actively recruiting new drivers, leveraging the governor’s emergency proclamation to streamline the hiring process. The proclamation allows drivers with a commercial driver's license (CDL) and a "P" endorsement – permitting them to transport passengers – to operate school buses temporarily, in lieu of the "S" endorsement specifically required for school bus drivers. The company is also exploring partnerships with tour bus operators to further expand capacity.
Updates will be provided as more bus routes are restored.
The Department announced on Aug. 1 that it was temporarily suspending 108 routes in Central O‘ahu and East Hawai‘i Island – affecting nearly 2,900 students who signed up for bus transportation – to prioritize transportation for students with disabilities. On Aug. 2, another 39 routes servicing schools in Central and Upcountry Maui were temporarily suspended, impacting 820 students.
Hawaii DOE | Governor and mayors working with HIDOE on student transportation solutions (hawaiipublicschools.org)
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Workforce shortages to impact student transportation and after-school care at public schools
Workforce shortages are expected to impact the availability of student transportation and after-school care services in certain areas.
(CLUE: The people who would have taken these jobs moved to the mainland.)
News release from Hawaii DoE, 01-Aug-2024
HONOLULU — As the new school year begins next week, workforce shortages are expected to impact the availability of student transportation and after-school care services in certain areas. These essential services are outsourced by the Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HIDOE) to contractors.
Student Transportation
Due to anticipated service gaps because of bus contractors’ ongoing shortage of school bus drivers with the required commercial driver's licenses, the Department is temporarily suspending bus routes in Central O‘ahu and East Hawai‘i Island to prioritize transportation for students with disabilities.
A total of 108 routes will be temporarily suspended, affecting nearly 2,900 students who signed up for bus transportation. Bus routes for students receiving transportation as part of their special education services are not impacted.
The suspended routes on O‘ahu are for middle/intermediate and high school students in the ‘Aiea-Moanalua-Radford and Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex Areas. The suspended routes in East Hawai‘i Island are for all grade levels in the Hilo-Waiākea and Ka‘ū-Kea‘au-Pāhoa Complex Areas. The four impacted complex areas were ones where the contracted bus provider did not have sufficient drivers in place as of this week.
Among six bus service contractors statewide, an estimated 87 additional drivers are needed to fully staff school bus routes. Over the last school year, 175 school bus drivers have vacated their positions.
The HIDOE will continue to work with the school bus contractors to restore bus routes and will notify families when routes are restored.
“The shortage of school bus drivers across the nation continues to impact our schools and requires the temporary reduction of bus routes to ensure that bus services can continue for our special education students,” Randy Moore, deputy superintendent of operations, said. “Working with our contractors to restore the bus routes is critical to support our students’ attendance at school and their learning.”
Impacted high school riders on Oʻahu will be offered HOLO cards to ride the City & County of Honolulu TheBus system for free. High school riders at East Hawaiʻi schools are able to use the Hele-On county bus system for free with no pass needed. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/HIDOE-EXPRESS.
Mileage reimbursement applications will also be available for parents and guardians who drive their students to and/or from the impacted schools; schools will be distributing parent notifications with information on mileage reimbursement and refunds for families that have paid for school bus service. Each student may select one option: subsidized county transportation via EXPRESS or mileage reimbursement.
Bus service contractors are continuing to offer hiring bonuses, pay incentives and increased benefits to attract new drivers. For employment opportunities, see here.
After-school care
HIDOE’s after-school care programs for elementary students continue to experience workforce shortages as this school year opens. Of the 163 school sites, 46 schools have waiting lists for the Afterschool Plus (A+) program. A+ contractors have notified families if their child is on the waitlist, and in the first month of school they will provide families with weekly updates.
Contractors providing A+ programs are actively recruiting staff across the islands. For employment opportunities, see:
KHON: Workforce shortages prompt HIDOE to cancel school bus routes for some areas | KHON2
SA: DOE bus service, A+ program hit by staff shortages | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
CB: DOE Abruptly Cancels School Bus Routes For Thousands Of Hawaii Students - Honolulu Civil Beat
SA: Editorial: Fix unacceptable school bus deficit | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
SA: Panel seeks answers on school bus void | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
SA: Parents scramble as Green works to fix bus driver shortage | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
KITV: Days before the start of school, families scrambling for transportation and child care | News | kitv.com
DOE suspends school bus service to East Hawaii schools - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
DOE, county seek solutions to school bus crisis - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Bus driver shortage to affect about 2,400 students | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)