Getting on board

KAILUA-KONA — For those without private transportation, a trip from Hilo to Kailua-Kona means more than three hours on a bus as it travels through Laupahoehoe and Honokaa then down through Waimea.

Meanwhile, Kona is growing, and by 2040 the region is expected to provide 25 percent more jobs than Hilo, according to a draft transit master plan prepared for the county’s Mass Transit Agency.

That’s why, said Rossella Guardascione, human resources director at the Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel, it’s crucial to make the island’s east and west communities accessible for residents commuting across the island between work and home.

“Or go to school and work as well,” she said. “Or just really have a different experience. Hilo’s beautiful. Individuals may just prefer that side of the island versus living in West Hawaii.”

And after Thursday night’s presentation about the proposed plan to revamp the county’s transit system, Guardascione said she’s feeling good about what’s on the table, particularly a proposed Hilo-Kona express route, aimed at connecting Hilo with the South Kohala resorts and Kona via Saddle Road.

Consultants behind the proposed plan have identified starting service on that route as one of several “immediate priorities” for 2018-20, according to a handout provided at Thursday’s meeting.

“It sounds like the Kona to Hilo over Saddle Road is the proposed priority route,” said Guardascione. “So I really appreciate that.”

Guardascione was one of about a dozen area residents who attended Thursday’s meeting, where the public had an opportunity to learn about the proposed master plan for the county’s transit system, including specific proposals to improve service in and around Kona.

The county’s Mass Transit Agency is working on a master plan for both transit and paratransit services on the island, with an eye toward ensuring safe, reliable and accessible service. The plan explores both service-wide and regional issues with Hele-On bus service and paratransit operations, touching on everything from service routes to increasing the number of buses to augmenting bus service with other opportunities such as van pool subsidies, expanded bike share and continuation of a taxi voucher program.

Community meetings have been ongoing this month to give members of the public a chance to both ask questions and let officials know what they’d like to see in their transit system.

Thursday’s meeting marked the fourth such meeting. Meetings in Keaau and Hilo are scheduled for Sunday and Monday at the Keaau Community Center and Aupuni Center Conference Room, respectively.

In Kona specifically, the current picture of transit service “is complicated,” according to the document.

Major points within the region, the document says, are served intermittently, and there’s no one place for people to access the different routes and get information on the bus system.

Moreover, providers for routes within Kona can be different day to day; trips might be canceled and destinations aren’t served in accordance with the schedule.

The transit plan attributes the woes to a lack of operating buses, pointing to the need for a second maintenance facility or a contract with a private tour company that has a maintenance facility in Kona.

The pressing needs are compounded by the region’s continued expected population and commercial growth, which will only exacerbate existing traffic congestion and commute times.

To improve Kona’s transit service, the plan recommends moving toward a “hub-and-spoke” service, where the hub is a centralized location in the service area that offers amenities such as information, bicycle storage, restrooms and security. Hubs can also serve as a place for taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers to connect passengers with bus service.

The hubs are served by routes, the “spokes” in the service system, which are localized and connect at the hub, where passengers can transfer onto other routes. The Kona hub is proposed in the area near Old Kona Airport Park.

The proposed hub-and-spoke system for Kona includes four local routes. Two routes connect the hub to the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole, another runs between the hub and Captain Cook and the fourth operates between the hub and Keauhou Shopping Center via Kuakini Highway. The local routes would connect with regional routes.

Comments on the draft transit master plan are due April 30 and can be submitted at the draft master plan’s website, https://heleonmasterplan.com/draft-transit-master-plan. The full report can also be downloaded at that address.