City proposes to double Waialua, Hale'iwa bus service

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer

The city has proposed to double the number of buses in Waialua and Hale'iwa under a hub and spoke system, extending hours of operation as well as expanding the number of routes.

The proposal is part of a larger package to increase service to Central O'ahu from 10 buses to 26 buses, beginning in August 2002, project manager Wes Frysztacki told the North Shore Neighborhood Board last week.

"What exists today (in Waialua and Hale'iwa) is one bus that makes a one-way loop every 40 minutes until about 7 p.m.," Frysztacki said. "Our scheme is to have two buses operate during peak periods and link up with Waimea Falls Park."

At a transit meeting three months ago, people said TheBus doesn't serve enough of the area, especially Waialua High and Middle School and Dillingham Field.

Here's how the new routes would work:

• Route 471 would serve the Waialua Beach Road once an hour.
• Route 472 would serve Farrington Highway, with both 471 and 472 returning to the transit hub every 30 minutes. In Waialua, Goodale Avenue would have service every 30 minutes in both directions.
• Route 473 to Waimea Falls Park would operate only during the middle of the day, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It could operate in conjunction with 471 and 472 to provided increase service to and from Waialua every 15 minutes.

"We will propose that Route 52 (the circle island run), which stops (daily service) at 9 p.m., run 24 hours seven days a week," Frysztacki said.

The city's new hub-and-spoke bus system is based on transit centers, or hubs. Those hubs act as the meeting point for the express and regular bus routes, which are the spokes. Hub-and-spoke is designed to improve the efficiency of the bus system to serve growing communities and changing travel needs, according to the city. The city recently revamped its routes in Leeward O'ahu, where the changes have been well received.

A board member was concerned that the hubs have restroom facilities and be located conveniently. The hubs are tentatively planned for near the post office in Hale'iwa and could go near the high school or library in Waialua, Frysztacki said.

"Where those two go will be community driven," he said.

The board approved the system as presented 10-0. Frysztacki has made a presentation to the Wahiawa Neighborhood Board, which also approved the plan, and he will seek support from the Mililani and Mililani Mauka neighborhood boards next.

Once the communities approve the changes, they will be included in the city's fiscal 2002-2003 budget for City Council approval, said Cheryl Soon, city director for the Department of Transportation Service. The changes are expected to meet council approval, Soon said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at 234-5266 or eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.