Hawaiʻi County expands its transit fleet with 9 additional paratransit vans, 4 all-electric buses

Hawaiʻi County recently conducted a blessing ceremony for 13 more vehicles for its public transportation fleet — nine paratransit vans serving people with disabilities and four all-electric buses.

The paratransit vehicles include two six-passenger vans and seven eight-passenger vans, each with wheelchair accessibility.

Hawaiʻi County Mass Transit now has 16 vehicles in its Hele-On Kakoʻo Paratransit Services fleet, helping increase on-time performance and reliability for users.

“It is quite remarkable that we can more than double the size of our paratransit fleet,” said Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda in a release following the blessing. “Everyone needs access to transportation, and we are excited to be able to improve services for our disabled residents on these routes.”

The paratransit service is provided up to 1 mile of fixed bus routes in Hilo, Kona and Puna.

“We are very pleased to add these new vehicles to our fleet,” said Mass Transit Administrator Zachary Bergum in the release. “These new all-electric buses mark an important step toward reducing our emissions, and as paratransit ridership continues to increase, these vans will ensure that we meet demand for this critical service.”

Available Hele-On Kakoʻo Paratransit Services routes, days and times are as follows:

Hilo

• Within 1 mile of Routes 101, 102, 103, 104
• 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday
• 9:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays

Kona

• Within 1 mile of Routes 201, 202, 203, 204
• 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Puna

• Within 1 mile of Routes 40, 401, 402
• 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
• 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

About Paratransit

Hele-On Kakoʻo Paratransit Services is a shared ride, advance reservation, origin-to-destination transportation service for people with disabilities who are unable to use the fixed routes served by Hele-On Bus, Hawaiʻi County’s public bus service.

Call 808-204-6467 or visit the Hele-On Bus/Hawaiʻi County Mass Transit website for additional information.