New options for Hawai‘i student transportation for 2025-26 School Year

Jun 23, 2025

In preparation for the upcoming school year, the Hawai‘i Department of Education (HIDOE) announced programs to tackle its school bus driver shortage. The programs will help families plan their child’s transportation needs while providing clean transportation choices — which Ulupono Initiative strongly supports.

To minimize disruptions and expand its student transportation options this 2025-26 school year, here are the options HIDOE is offering: 

• The HIDOE’s EXPRESS program, which offers free county bus passes, begins Aug. 1 and will include middle and intermediate school students (high school students remain eligible).
• A new carpool pilot program will launch in the Mililani and Kekaulike complexes to help families coordinate school transportation.

A school bus driver shortage this past school year forced the department to suspend 108 bus routes, affecting nearly 2,900 students across the state. To help combat the issue, contractors are offering higher pay and sign-on bonuses to incentivize bus drivers to address the suspended routes, especially in Maui and East Hawai‘i for the upcoming school year.

For more information on transportation options for the coming school year, go to hawaiipublicschools.org. Applications for 2025-26 transportation services open on July 14.