As students return to school, City encourages Oʻahu residents to utilize transportation alternatives
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 15, 2024
HONOLULU – The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS) is encouraging Oʻahu residents — and especially public, private and college-aged students — to embrace different ways to get around the island this year, especially as the new school year begins.
As students head back to public, private and charter schools, as well as to college and university campuses, traffic congestion will increase on our roads. DTS is asking the public to plan their trips in advance, ensuring adequate time to travel safely on the road.
There are many ways to get travel all over the island of Oʻahu:
Skyline:
Honolulu’s newest mode of transportation, Skyline offers convenient, comfortable, and reliable rides with expansive views of the south shore of Oʻahu between East Kapolei and Hālawa. With stations at University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu and Leeward Community College, DTS encourages students, faculty, and staff to ride Skyline, bypassing ground level traffic with trains running every 10 minutes. Riders bound for University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa can connect to Route A at the Hālawa Aloha Stadium Station. Route A buses arrive every 10 minutes.
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam employees who live near the Skyline route can connect directly to TheBus Route PH8 at Hālawa station for direct access onto the base.
TheBus:
TheBus offers over 100 routes on Oʻahu and is an efficient way to access school and work. With routes serving most public and private schools, plus all University of Hawaiʻi and other college campuses, along with major employment centers, TheBus is a great way to get around without driving.
In addition, qualified Hawaiʻi Department of Education (HIDOE) high school students (grades 9-12) are able to sign up for the EXPRESS County Bus Pass Program. The EXPRESS program provides approved HIDOE students an ID that can be used to board TheBus and Skyline for free until May 18, 2025. More information can be found here.
Students that do not qualify for the EXPRESS program can sign up for a Youth Pass. Youth Passes are available for students (6 to 17 years of age) wishing to utilize TheBus or Skyline, at select Satellite City Halls or TheBus Pass Office. The Youth Fare form can be viewed here: https://www.thebus.org/Fare/Application_YouthHOLO.pdf.
Online orders for Youth Passes can be found here: https://www.thebus.org/Fare/YouthFare_submitFormNew.asp
College students are eligible for the U-PASS program, a reduced rate pass tailored to the needs of Hawaiʻi University students. Students from University of Hawaiʻi, including Community College campuses, Hawaiʻi Pacific University (HPU) and Chaminade University, are all eligible for a U-PASS. More information on the U-PASS can be found here.
Carpool:
Carpooling reduces the number of vehicles on the roadways, and can be a good opportunity for bonding and conversation.
Biki:
DTS took over Biki operations at the beginning of July, and the bikeshare network is another mode of transportation added to our multimodal offerings. Biki provides affordable rates for students and employees around urban Honolulu.
HOLO cards are used for payment on TheBus and Skyline and are available for purchase at select retail locations, most Satellite City Halls, online and at TheBus Pass Office at the Kalihi Transit Center on Middle Street. HOLO cards can be registered to an individual or families to manage, come with transfer periods and fare capping, and can hold daily or monthly passes. For more information, go to https://www.holocard.net/.
DTS wants to remind all users of the roadways to practice patience, time management, and to travel with aloha.
Skyline operates during the following hours:
Weekdays: 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Weekends and City Holidays: 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
For more information on Skyline, please visit: www.honolulu.gov/skyline, or call 808-848-5555
For informational videos introducing Skyline, familiarizing yourself with Skyline stations, and how to ride TheBus and Skyline, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/@hnldts.
For TheBus routes and information, please visit: www.thebus.org or call 808-848-5555.
For more information on getting a HOLO card, please visit: www.holocard.net.
For more information on Biki, please visit: https://gobiki.org/
—PAU—