HILO — Christmas came in July for the county Mass Transit Agency, when seven buses from Honolulu arrived Wednesday at Hilo Harbor.
The used buses are a welcome addition to the Hele-On bus service, which has only half of its fleet operating. A slew of breakdowns of the county’s aging buses interrupted service, caused Wednesday intra-Kona routes to be suspended and forced the county to contract with a private transportation company to keep its service on schedule.
The donated buses are expected to be on the road by Monday.
A full 25 of the 55-bus fleet were out of commission because they needed major repairs, transit officials reported to the County Council in April. Since then, former Transit Administrator Tiffany Kai has been reassigned, and a consultant has been contracted to bring the system up to snuff.
The consultant, Acting Mass Transit Administrator Curt Sharp, said Wednesday he spent last week in Honolulu “begging, bowing and scraping” for the buses, which were donated at no cost to the county. Sharp said the county paid Young Bros. a discounted rate for shipping the yellow-and-white behemoths to Hilo.
Sharp said the Honolulu buses will be put on the road, replacing some of the Hele-On buses that need repairs. Ultimately, the entire fleet will be restored, with two extra buses for backups, he said.
“Our objective is to have most, if not all, our own buses on the road by December,” Sharp said.
He said the county is still contracting some bus service from a private transportation company, but it has restored the Wednesday intra-Kona route.
The county tries to buy one new bus, priced from $525,000 to $600,000, a year. There are five mechanics, but Mass Transit has also tapped into expertise from the Department of Pubic Works, and even students at Hawaii Community College are helping.
Honolulu regularly sends its used buses to the Big Island, Maui and Kauai. This year, because of Hawaii County’s urgent needs, all seven buses were sent to Hilo, a county press release said.
The donated buses were built in 1997 and were retired from Honolulu’s fleet, but are still in working condition, according to a city press release. Similar buses are capable of running for over 1 million miles and are still used in day-to-day operations, it said.
Oahu Transit Services maintenance personnel have kept thorough maintenance records of these vehicles and are turning over these records, preventative maintenance schedules and service manuals to ensure Hele-On’s maintenance team a successful transition into their fleet, according to county officials.
The Transit Agency’s $13.8 million budget was increased about 6 percent for the fiscal year that started Saturday. Federal grants account for just $1.2 million of the budget, with fares accounting for $960,000. Riders pay $1-$2 fares, depending on their age and whether they have disabilities.