8 East Hawai‘i school bus routes to be reinstated next week

School bus service for nearly 200 students, most of them on the Big Island, will be restored starting next week as 8 previously suspended East Hawai‘i routes are reinstated.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Education said 4 routes in the Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area and another 4 in the Ka‘ū-Keaʻau-Pāhoa Complex Area will be reinstated starting Aug. 26.

The Big Island routes to be restored are:

Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area

• E.B. deSilva Elementary School Route TR04B.
• Hilo High School Route TR04A.
• Hilo Intermediate School Route TR01A.
• Kalanianaʻole Elementary and Intermediate School Route TR01B.

Ka‘ū-Keaʻau-Pāhoa Complex Area

• Ka‘ū High and Pāhala Elementary School Route SR06A.
• Keaʻau Middle School Route SR22A.
• Keaʻau High School Routes SR32A and SR32B.

An additional route in Upcountry Maui also will be reinstated.

Continuing efforts to restore suspended routes, The state Education Department’s bus service contractor Ground Transport Inc. secured additional drivers and buses by subcontracting with Polynesian Adventure Tours.

The latest restored routes will be served by buses from Ground Transport, Roberts Hawaiʻi and Polynesian Adventure.

Parents and guardians of student riders will be notified immediately about restored routes and any necessary route modifications.

The state announced Aug. 1 that nearly 2,900 students throughout the islands — including in the Hilo-Waiākea and Ka‘ū-Kea‘au-Pāhoa Complex Area — who signed up to catch a school bus to make their way to classes would begin the 2024-25 public school year without a guaranteed ride.

Information was updated Aug. 2, indicating that school bus service for 147 routes on O‘ahu, Maui and the Big Island would be temporarily suspended, affecting nearly 3,720 students.

These latest 9 routes to be restored add to 34 previously restored Aug. 12 and another 20 also set to be reinstated next week in central Oʻahu. Efforts to restore the remaining 84 suspended bus routes are ongoing.

State Superintendent of Public Schools Keith Hayashi also requested assistance from the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard to support student transportation needs.

Additionally, the state Education Department is collaborating with the mayors of Hawaiʻi Island, 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 an emergency proclamation issued by Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green to streamline the hiring process.

The proclamation allows drivers with a commercial driver’s license and “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 other tour bus operators to further expand capacity.

Additional updates will be provided as additional bus routes are restored.