HONOLULU (KHON2) -- The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) announced today that four previously suspended school bus routes will be reinstated starting Monday, September 30.
This move will restore service for over 70 student riders across three schools in Central Oahu and East Hawaii Island.
The restored routes will be operated by Ground Transport Inc. Parents and guardians of affected students will receive direct notifications about the reinstated routes and any changes that may be needed.
The following routes will resume service on September 30:
Oʻahu
- Aiea-Moanalua-Radford Complex Area: 2 routes
- Moanalua Middle - HR18B, HR23B
Hawaii Island
- Kaʻū-Keaʻau-Pāhoa Complex Area: 2 routes
- Pāhoa Elementary, Pāhoa High & Intermediate - SR09A, SR09B
With these four routes returning, a total of 100 routes will have been restored, although 38 routes remain suspended.
Ground Transport is also working to restore a route servicing the Kahakuloa area on North Maui, which serves Waiheʻe Elementary, ʻĪao Intermediate, and Baldwin High.
To address staffing shortages, Ground Transport is actively recruiting new drivers.
Thanks to the governor’s emergency proclamation, drivers with a commercial driver's license (CDL) and a "P" endorsement can temporarily operate school buses, bypassing the need for the "S" endorsement typically required for school bus drivers.
The company is also looking into partnerships with tour bus operators to increase capacity.
More updates will be shared as additional routes are restored.