New bus arrives too late
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
An all-electric bus, developed at a cost of $1 million to help replace the aging WikiWiki shuttles at Honolulu International Airport, has arrived in the Islands, but the state Department of Transportation isn't sure it wants it anymore.
The quiet, nonpolluting, air-conditioned, ADA-compliant bus built to WikiWiki specifications was due to be demonstrated and tested at the airport, but officials now say they don't know if they'll accept it, even on a trial basis.
The problem? Because development and delivery of the prototype bus was delayed, airport officials contracted with another company for different electric buses, which are scheduled to arrive by this summer.
"We're still considering their request, but it doesn't seem like there's anything we can learn from a demonstration at this point," Transportation Department spokes-
woman Marilyn Kali said yesterday. "We had to move forward, and we've already made our selection."
The prototype bus was developed with federal and private money by the Hawai'i Electric Vehicle Development Program and ENOVA, a manufacturer of electric vehicles.
Tom Quinn, director of the Hawai'i program, said he was disappointed that the bus might never be tested here, but is sure it will find a home somewhere.
"It would be nice to test it at the airport, even for a little while. We built it to their specifications, so it would bring our project to a closure," he said.
Discussions about the new bus date back to 1997 and construction began last year, Quinn said. Delays were caused by the usual problems found in the development of any new technology, he said.
Before the bus could be developed, airport officials became worried that their rapidly deteriorating diesel shuttles, which move large numbers of visitors from one airport area to another, would have to be replaced quickly. They put out a bid for 10 new buses. The $2.5 million bid was won by GEM of Hawai'i and Electric Vehicles International, another electric vehicle developer.
Those buses, which have an electric drive train and a propane generator to recharge the batteries and run the air-conditioning, will be delivered this summer, said Mark Snyder, head of GEM of Hawai'i. "We're right on schedule," he said.
Despite losing the bid for the extra buses, ENOVA continued building its WikiWiki shuttle, using $500,00 of its own money and $500,000 in U.S. Department of Transportation funds.
"There was no guarantee, but we thought the state would still be interested in seeing how it would perform," Quinn said. "They are going to need more buses in the future."
Even though the 100-passenger, three-unit bus-and-trailer system was tailor-made for Honolulu International Airport, Quinn said it's likely to be useful in many other places.
"It meets the needs for anyplace where a lot of people have to be moved in a confined, low-speed environment, including other airports or a national park," he said.
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
