Starting in July, Paratransit Monthly Pass Replaced by Coupon Book

Monthly and daily passes for riders on paratransit buses operated by Maui Economic Opportunity will be eliminated and replaced with a coupon booklet program beginning July 1, 2021.

The Maui County Department of Transportation announced changes in various Maui Bus fares and passes this week. MEO runs the Maui Bus Americans with Disabilities Act paratransit system, offering curb-to-curb rides by reservation for qualified persons with disabilities within three-fourths of a mile on either side of a Maui Bus route.

Under the current program, paratransit riders have been able to purchase $45 monthly passes from MEO for unlimited rides for the month with the nonprofit agency subsidizing the cost for low income riders above the $45. That program is being replaced by a 12-ride (one-way trip) ticket booklet, which will cost $20. Coupons will be valid from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.

Sales of the coupon booklets begin June 25, 2021, and may be purchased from bus drivers. Drivers could assist riders with the removal of the ticket from the booklet and to place the coupon in the farebox.

General boarding fares (one-way trips) remain at $2 per boarding, cash only.

For more information about the paratransit service or to make a reservation, call 808-877-7651.

On regular Maui Bus routes, the new fares include a $25 monthly pass offered to seniors, 55 years and older, and students with a valid ID, 24 and younger; paratransit-eligible riders; and Medicare cardholders.

MEO will continue to certify and register the Maui Bus disability riders for the monthly pass. For an application and more information, contact MEO at 808-249-4306 or go to the website, meoinc.org.

The Department of Transportation said in a letter to MEO that the changes are based on recommendations in the Maui Bus Rates & Fee study, the Maui Short Range Transit Plan and the County Council’s Performance and Fiscal Audits of the Department of Transportation.