Mililani transit center dedicated
The new hub serves central Oahu
The Mililani Town Center is now the transit hub for Central Oahu.
The city dedicated the Mililani Transit Center yesterday. It sits on what was a dirt berm on the edge of the town center along Meheula Parkway.
The two-story facility has an upper deck for buses and HandiVans, six bus shelters and loading platforms, a clock tower, restrooms and an elevator to an 800-square-foot community room on the lower level and the town center's parking lot.
"This is now the main (bus) stop in Mililani," said James Burke, city Public Transit Division administrator.
Burke, who rode a bicycle to the dedication ceremony, had to lean his bicycle against the back of the women's restroom because there are no bicycle racks at the transit center. He said bikers will probably take their bicycles on the bus with them rather than leave them at the center. But he said the city will add racks if there is a demand.
Roger Morton, president and general manager of Oahu Transit Services, the company that runs TheBus, said the company's more than 1,200 bus and HandiVan drivers will appreciate the new facility.
"They'll especially appreciate the restrooms," Morton said.
Riders who use the buses serving the greater Mililani and Central Oahu area can transfer to buses heading into Honolulu or to the North Shore at the transit center. To enhance the center's function as a transit hub, TheBus is adding two new routes starting Sunday. Route 501 will serve Mililani Mauka, and Route 504 will server lower Mililani. Fare for the first week of operation will be free.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said the transit center will give riders the means to connect to the city's fixed guideway system when it is completed, and a ferry service should the city start one.
The city already has a transit center in Waipahu, a temporary one in Kapolei, another one in Waianae that will be operational next week and one under construction on Middle Street in Kalihi.
The Mililani Transit Center cost $4.67 million to build. The federal government provided 80 percent of the funding for the project, and the city provided the rest. The Mililani Town Center provided the land.