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Shuttle planned
for areas mauka
of Waikiki

Kapahulu and Kaimuki
businesses and residents hope
the project will bring new
energy and dollars

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Out-of-towners have the darnedest time finding the Collector Maniacs toy store in Kaimuki.

"They're in Waikiki, and they tell me they don't know how to get here at all," said Duane Chang, a partner in the specialty shop located just three miles from the tourist mecca.

"And it's hard for me to describe to them how to get here, so we have to rely on their hotel concierge."

Meanwhile, Dennis Iwanaga and members of his New Kapahulu Business Association want to attract more customers -- not just from Waikiki, but also from dense residential neighborhoods in adjacent Kaimuki and other points mauka.

The possible solution for both Kaimuki and Kapahulu businesses: a city-subsidized, privately run Kaimuki-Kapahulu-Waikiki shuttle service.

Residents and businesses hope the shuttle -- which is being planned to run 3.7 miles along Kuhio, Kapahulu and Waialae avenues -- will bring new energy and dollars to their communities.

The city has set aside $450,000 to hire a contractor to provide the service for one year as a pilot project. The winning bidder will be allowed to charge riders up to $1 per trip, the cost of a ride on TheBus.

A request for proposals is expected to be out in the coming weeks, said Councilman Duke Bainum, who represents all three neighborhoods and helped secure funding for the project.

He hopes the shuttle will be operating by May. Kapahulu businesses have been waiting a long time for a way to draw more customers, Iwanaga said.

"Kapahulu, as an older business district, has suffered from the lack of available parking space and the fact that Kapahulu has become more of a thoroughfare to get out of Waikiki," he said.

"And with the lack of good bus service, tourists are finding it very hard to find us."

Mindy Jaffe works in Kaimuki, lives in Waikiki and sees benefits to both communities.

She predicts the shuttle will bring a huge influx of Waikiki visitors to Kaimuki. "This is a charming neighborhood, and people really want to see something other than Waikiki," she said.

The shuttle also will provide residents with a direct route into Waikiki -- for work or play -- without having to worry about parking.

It takes some of those residents two bus transfers to get into Waikiki, Jaffe said.

Each district along the route offers "wonderful hidden areas" for people to leisurely explore, said Ginny Meade, director of the Greater East Honolulu Community Alliance.

"The idea is to get the areas more pedestrian-friendly, to get people walking around," Meade said.

"It's not just parking the car in the back, doing your business and then getting in your car and leaving."

Community leaders first began discussing a shuttle 18 months ago as part of a plan to gain federal empowerment-zone dollars, Meade said.

When that effort ended unsuccessfully, Mayor Jeremy Harris' visioning program, while controversial, helped the project take shape and get its first infusion of money.

The Greater East Honolulu Community Alliance has secured Community Development Block Grant monies to market the shuttle.

One idea is to have paid docents pointing out notable sites along the route.