Nearly 2,900 Hawaii public school students will lack bus transportation at the start of the new school year due to the suspension of 108 routes. This affects middle and high school students in central Oahu and all grade levels on the east side of the Big Island. The issue is due to a shortage of nearly 90 bus drivers. This marks the third consecutive year that the Department of Education (DOE) has had to cancel bus routes, forcing families to find alternative transportation. Special education students are not affected. The DOE is working to restore the routes but has not provided a timeline for when this might occur.
