The department sparked widespread criticism from parents and lawmakers last August when it abruptly cancelled over 100 bus routes for students days before the new school year. To avoid severe shortages this year, DOE consolidated some bus routes with low ridership and launched a new carpooling initiative for parents, according to a recent memo from Deputy Superintendent Jesse Souki.

Last year, nearly half of Hawaiʻi students didn’t qualify for bus transportation because they lived within walking distance to their local schools or received a geographic exception to attend a campus outside of their neighborhood. This fall, nearly 13% of students rely on the bus services available to regular education students, down from roughly 16% in the 2023-24 academic year.

Special education students receive their own bus services that are required under federal law.

Demand for bus drivers has fallen over the past two years, with DOE contracting for 694 drivers in 2023, compared to 675 this fall. Bus companies were better able to keep up with DOE’s demands before the Covid-19 pandemic, and the state was only short 28 drivers in 2019.

Despite the decline in DOE’s need for drivers, the costs of transporting kids has increased over the past several years. Last school year, the department spent a total of $76 million in state and federal funds on student transportation, compared to $60 million in 2022.

To reduce families’ reliance on buses, the department has offered free city bus passes to middle and high school students on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. In the first quarter of the school year, roughly 6,200 Oʻahu students and 99 Kauaʻi students took advantage of the bus passes, according to the DOE, with the majority of participants from Oʻahu schools.

Maui and Hawaiʻi County already offer free bus services to students.

This fall, DOE also introduced a carpool pilot program, which allows parents in the Mililani and Kekaulike complexes to connect with nearby families who can transport their kids between school and home.

Only 3% of families in the complexes have registered for the program, according to the DOE.

The department will give updates on student transportation during Thursday’s Board of Education meeting.

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