Expanded Services Coming to Hele-On

Hele-On will implement a new Sunday service in the Waimea, Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and Puna areas starting Sept. 5.

This new service is part of the County’s Mass Transit Agency’s plan to implement recommendations from the Transit and Multi-Modal Transportation Master Plan. The changes to mass transit include more routes, later service, and new service added on Sundays.

Timetables and route maps will be available on the buses and online in mid-August 2021.

“The implementation of the restructured transit service supports the efforts of Mayor Mitch Roth to increase access to public transit for all island residents, allowing for more economic development, improved access to employment, shopping, medical, education, and quality of life opportunities and helps the County to achieve substantiality goals regarding transportation as set forth from the Sustainability Summit that occurred this past March,” County officials stated.

The added Sunday service in the Waimea, Hilo, Kailua-Kona, will operate every 60 to 120 minutes.

As part of the new plan, trips will be added on service to Volcano, North Kohala, South Kohala, Honoka’a, and Waimea routes. New service will be established between Waimea and Kailua-Kona via Route 76: Green Line, between Hilo and Kona via Route 2: Blue Line, within Kailua-Kona on Routes 202 and 204, within Hilo on Route 104, and within the Puna District on Routes 401, 402 and 403.

The county continues its work to replace the aging transit fleet with new electric, hydrogen, and diesel hybrid electric buses. Other efforts part of the transit plan include streamlined transfers to increase access to passengers riding Hele-On routes; implementing flex route service on Route 301: Waimea Shuttle to bring the bus close closer to Waimea residents; implementing paratransit service within a one-mile radius of Route 40: Hilo-Pāhoa-Kalapana for those with disabilities. A new partnership with HIBIKE bike-sharing service in Hilo and Kailua-Kona and upgrading the website will provide accessible and clearer information to the general public.

More continued improvements based on the Final Transit and Multi-Modal Transportation Master Plan will continue to occur throughout 2021 and into 2022.

Additionally, on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021, Hele-On will operate a Sunday Schedule on Labor Day. Only Routes 2, 11, 40, 70, 75, 80, 90, 101, 201, 202, 301 and 401 will operate. More details on those routes are available on the Hele-On website.

For more information about Hele-On, and the new Route 201: Kona Trolley, call 808-961-8744, TDD: 711 through the relay service, email heleonbus@hawaiicounty.gov, visit www.heleonbus.org, or find Hele-On Bus on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.