Governor extends emergency proclamation to address school bus driver shortage

Gov. Josh Green, M.D, has extended emergency provisions, enabling the Hawai‘i State Department of Education to continue addressing the school bus driver shortage that has disrupted student transportation services. These provisions have allowed the Department to implement alternative transportation methods and restore suspended bus routes over the past two months, ensuring students can safely travel to and from school.

“Education of our keiki is an absolute priority,” said Green. “Getting our keiki to their classrooms has always been a state responsibility and remains so, despite challenges brought about by wildfires, other natural disasters, or in this case, a workforce shortage. We enacted the Emergency Proclamation to ensure our children have no barriers to receiving their education.”

Since the start of the school year in early August, the Department has reinstated 100 bus routes on O‘ahu, Maui and Hawai‘i Island. Service has been restored for 88% of impacted students – 3,263 out of 3,720. Active efforts to restore 38 more routes are ongoing. 

“We are deeply thankful to Green for extending the emergency proclamation, which has been crucial in mitigating the school bus driver shortage. Thanks to this flexibility, we’ve been able to deploy multiple solutions to restore routes. We also extend our gratitude to the affected schools and parents for their ongoing patience and understanding as we continue to work toward full resolution,” Deputy Superintendent Randy Moore said.

The emergency proclamation allows for the temporary use of tour buses to transport regular education students, a solution that has enabled school bus contractor Ground Transport Inc. to subcontract with such providers as Polynesian Adventure Tours. This collaboration has been instrumental in filling transportation gaps.

The proclamation also provides critical flexibility with procurement rules, allowing the Department to contract directly with additional providers like Roberts Hawai‘i to supply buses and drivers in shortage areas.

It further permits Ground Transport to place drivers on school buses before they have fully completed their licensing process. Although full licensure – commercial driver’s licenses with a “P” endorsement to drive passengers and an additional “S” endorsement to drive school buses – is still required for permanent positions, these provisions help speed up the availability of drivers in the short term.

The emergency proclamation has been extended through Nov. 30, 2024.