Maui County Unveils Its First 100% Electric Bus

The County of Maui Department of Transportation unveiled its first 100% electric bus during a ceremony last week.

The K9MC 40-foot Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) can be found on routes in Kahului, Wailuku and Kīhei until late December 2019. The unveiling is a pilot partnership between the County’s Transportation Department and Build Your Dream (BYD).

“We are very excited to start this partnership with BYD to show our community that the department is striving to be the first island to integrate zero emission buses into its fleet,” Deputy Director Michael Du Pont said.

The department held a ride-and-drive Thursday for the officials and Mayor Victorino to showcase how the electric buses will benefit the community and replace current diesel buses on circular town routes. Transportation officials invited to Thursday’s tour, included State DOT First Deputy Director Lynn Araki-Regan, Jeremy Lee from Kaua`i Bus, Brenda Carreira from Hele On Bus, Jon Nouchi from the City & County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services and Robyn Fujioka from State DOT.

The officials recently returned from a 12-day trip with Du Pont to conferences in Indianapolis and California that focused on ZEB purchasing, implantation and infrastructure. The team also visited several California transit agencies that currently have ZEBs in their active fleet.

County of Maui 100% Electric Bus. PC: County of Maui / Alan Fukuyama

County of Maui 100% Electric Bus. PC: County of Maui / Alan Fukuyama