HONOLULU \u2014 The Hawai\u2018i State Department of Education (HIDOE) continues to work with its school bus contractors statewide to help recruit and retain drivers and restore suspended routes as quickly as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bus service contractors are continuing to offer and expand hiring bonuses, pay incentives \u2013 including daily incentives \u2013 and increased benefits, and some contractors have offered to deploy buses and personnel to neighbor islands to assist. Incentives and recruitment information has been posted on our website at:\u00a0bit.ly\/HIDOEschoolbuscontractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All available school bus drivers are being assigned to cover federally mandated special education transportation services and prioritize the transportation of elementary and middle school students. More than 200 drivers are needed to fully staff school bus routes statewide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the support of Gov. Josh Green, the HIDOE and the state Department of Transportation are exploring a possible exemption to the federal requirements for school bus drivers. If approved, the move would help expand the pool of qualified drivers with current commercial driver\u2019s licenses who could assist with student transportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As previously announced, due to an ongoing bus driver shortage, the Department is transitioning nine of O\u2018ahu\u2019s 24 high schools to solely use the city’s public bus system for student transportation for the upcoming school year. Four schools on Kaua\u02bbi will also have to rely on county transportation via the Kauai Bus. Students at impacted schools who do not plan to use public transportation will need to find alternate means of transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Department is offering free county bus passes to all high school students through its EXPRESS program<\/a> in partnership with the counties. (Although these passes are available to all HIDOE high school students, only one type of bus pass can be obtained per student \u2013 yellow school bus pass or county bus pass.) Information on signing up for EXPRESS is below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To date, 3,600 students have signed up for free county bus passes through EXPRESS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe encourage our high school families to activate their county bus passes on all islands if bus transportation to and from school is needed,\u201d Assistant Superintendent Randall Tanaka said. \u201cAs the school year starts, we will monitor bus ridership data in real time to see where routes may be adjusted or restored. We ask for our families\u2019 patience as we continue to work to minimize disruptions.\u201d O\u02bbahu high school students who will be riding the City & County of Honolulu\u2019s TheBus system will have a one-week grace period to ride city buses for free during the first week of school from Aug. 7 to 11 while their new subsidized HOLO student ID is activated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The HIDOE\u2019s updated EXPRESS pass is a HOLO card integrated with the student ID for all O\u2018ahu students in grades 9-12. These cards must be activated online at iportal.k12.hi.us\/EXPRESS<\/a>, with parental consent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The grace period will allow an extra week for O\u2018ahu families to activate their student\u2019s HOLO ID. A parent letter<\/a> is being sent to affected families today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once activated, the cards will be valid until May 31, 2024 and can be used for free transportation to and from school and other destinations. Students are reminded that TheBus will stop at city bus stops and not at suspended school bus stop locations.\u00a0 \u8003\u827e\u5cf6<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Routes at four schools have been suspended at Kapa\u2018a Elementary, Middle and High, and Hanalei Elementary\u200b. The Department is offering county bus passes for Kauai Bus for high school students and for families who feel this is an appropriate option for their younger students. Parents would fill out an online application at iportal.k12.hi.us\/EXPRESS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n School bus routes on Maui have been modified to prioritize special education and younger students. Schools should have contacted families about school bus service options. County bus passes for Maui Bus will be distributed to high schools as soon as possible. Parents would fill out an online application at iportal.k12.hi.us\/EXPRESS<\/a>. School bus routes on Moloka\u02bbi and L\u0101na\u02bbi are currently not affected.
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