Trending
The Maui News
HONOLULU--The Hawai'i State Department of Education (HIDOE) announced on Friday, Oct. 11 that multiple suspended school bus routes on Maui will be reinstated starting Monday, Oct. 14.
Service is being restored for approximately 100 student riders enrolled at 10 schools on Maui and Hawai'i Island.
Parents and guardians of student riders will be notified directly of restored routes and any necessary route modifications.
The following school bus routes will resume service, effective Monday, Oct. 14.
Baldwin-Kekaulike-Kūlanihāko'i-Maui Complex Area: 2 routes
¯ Waihe'e Elementary, 'Īao Intermediate, Baldwin High – BR12A
¯ Kalama Intermediate, Kekaulike High – UR19A
Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area: 4 routes
¯ Waiākea Elementary, Waiākea Intermediate, Waiākea High – TR12A/B
¯ Waiākea Elementary, Waiākea Intermediate, Waiākea High – TR13A/B
Ka'ū-Kea'au-Pāhoa Complex Area: 3 routes
¯ Kea'au Middle – SR23A
¯ Kea'au Elementary, Kea'au Middle – SR27A/B
Following the restoration of the nine routes next Monday, a total of 109 routes will have been restored. Efforts to restore the remaining 29 suspended bus routes are ongoing.
On Oct. 2, Gov. Josh Green extended an emergency proclamation enabling the Department to continue addressing the school bus driver shortage. The emergency provisions allow the Department to implement alternative transportation methods, such as allowing the temporary use of tour buses to transport regular education students.
It also allows the Department's school bus contractor Ground Transport Inc. to place drivers on school buses before they have fully completed their licensing process. Although full licensure--commercial driver's licenses with a "P" endorsement to drive passengers and an additional "S" endorsement to drive school buses--is still required for permanent positions, these provisions help speed up the availability of drivers in the short term.
The emergency proclamation was extended through Nov. 30.