Maui agency upgrades transit fleet
By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor
KAHULUI, Maui — The nonprofit Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. has purchased 23 new vehicles for its transportation fleet.
Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser
The two cars and 21 buses were purchased with $1.3 million in federal, state and county money. All of the new buses have wheelchair lifts, and two can carry up to eight passengers in wheelchairs. Two others can accommodate gurneys for patients who need transportation to dialysis treatments or other medical appointments.
Arla Schreiber yesterday tested a new Maui Economic Opportunity bus with help from driver Neil Labang, right, and transportation chief Don Medeiros. Such buses are indispensable to many on Maui.
Maui Economic Opportunity is the closest thing Maui has to public transportation. Its bus service provides 350,000 passenger-trips a year to youths, the elderly, the disabled and others.
Norita De Lima of Kahului has been riding Maui Economic Opportunity buses for 19 years to get to doctor's appointments and to go on outings. "I only have a few family members here, and without MEO, I would be home-bound," she said.
A blessing ceremony yesterday for the buses also honored senior citizen Arla Schreiber, who approached Maui Economic Opportunity Executive Director Gladys Baisa in 1984 to ask for help for people with disabilities who were unable to leave their homes to conduct personal errands, shop, visit the doctor or participate in social activities.
The agency responded by holding fund-raising events until enough money was collected to retrofit a van with a wheelchair lift. Since then, its transportation fleet has grown to 74 vehicles. The new buses are replacing older vehicles that are beyond repair, agency officials said.
