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New ‘hub-and-spoke’
bus system promises
more efficient service

High hopes ride on new trolley
Schedule changes for Leeward riders

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By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Regular Leeward bus riders will see their daily routines changed drastically when the city's new "hub-and-spoke" program kicks in Aug. 20.

City and TheBus officials promise the new system will allow commuters less wait time, speedier trips and more choices overall. But they also acknowledge that it may take some getting used to since routes are being added, eliminated or changed.

And while riders from the Waianae Coast to Waipahu will be the first under the system, other areas are expected to convert within the next two years.

Traditionally, rural Oahu bus routes have many stops on the way to Honolulu so many neighborhoods can be served.

Under the hub-and-spoke system, a series of circulator buses provide service in smaller areas throughout the day. They serve as "spokes" that center around transit centers, the "hubs," where passengers hop onto buses with farther reaching routes that travel to downtown Honolulu and back.

More options for riders

For instance, except during peak morning and afternoon times when express buses run, buses will no longer travel directly from Waikele or Village Park to Honolulu. Instead, a circulator route will only travel between Waikele and Village Park, dropping Honolulu-bound residents at the Waipahu Transit Center on Moloaloa Street.

Those passengers could then get on a limited-stop, more frequent and faster-moving CityExpress! bus. Or they could opt to ride a more traditional local route with more frequent stops.

Transportation Director Cheryl Soon said some may be nervous at needing to transfer buses, but the routes have been designed to allow for easy transfers.

"The schedules were built so that there is enough time to arrive from the one bus to get onto the next bus," she said. "There shouldn't have to be much of a wait."

Popular idea

Soon said the hub-and-spoke system was endorsed highly at Oahu Trans2K community meetings two years ago.

Kenneth Stanley, vice president of operational planning and marketing for Oahu Transit Services, which runs TheBus, said passengers have said the same thing for years.

"The customers have said one of the problems we have with the existing system is to get one from one side of our neighborhood to the other," Stanley said. "All we have now are buses that come in and out of Honolulu. This system solves that problem."

There will be 10 circulator routes tied to four transit centers: three in the Waianae region, four in Makakilo-Kapolei area, four in Ewa and two in Waipahu.

The new service will add about 80 new stops and 46,000 service hours to the Leeward area at a cost of $2.6 million annually.

Soon also announced the creation of Route B, a new Express! service that will run from Middle Street to Kapiolani Park, mirroring the existing No. 2 route.

It joins City Express! Route A, from Waipahu to the University of Hawaii, and CountryExpress! Route C, from Waianae to downtown, as limited-stop express routes. That route will add 20,000 service hours at $1.2 million.

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Schedule changes for Leeward riders Leeward bus riders should take note that the following routes will see major changes, several eliminated entirely, when the Leeward hub-and-spoke bus program begins Aug. 20: Route 47 (Waipahu); Route 48 (Waikele/Ewa Mill); Route 49 (Ewa Beach); Route 50 (Kapolei/Makakilo/Village Park); Route 51 (Makaha); Route 75 (Nanakuli/Waianae); Route 93 (Makaha express); and Route 94 (Campbell Industrial Park express). Call 848-5555 or visit TheBus' Web page at www.thebus.org