The State Department of Education (HIDOE) is launching a pilot program with the four counties to expand subsidized county bus passes for high schoolers in grades 9-12. The pilot program — called EXPRESS, which stands for Expanding Ridership to Educate Students in Schools — aims to help mitigate the impacts of the national school bus driver shortage.

Expanding free bus transportation services to all high school students under the EXPRESS program also stands to benefit more than 21,000 students — or 47% of high school students — who are currently ineligible because they live within the walk zone of their school campus.

The goal is to increase high school student ridership on county bus services so that underutilized school buses can be reassigned to restore canceled and consolidated routes.

Interested students with an active HIDOE student ID number may sign up online at iportal.k12.hi.us/express. Approved applicants will receive a confirmation and their county bus pass directly through their school. Oʻahu recipients will receive one county pass beginning in November that will be valid through July 2023. Recipients on Kauaʻi, Maui and the Big Island will receive passes good for each month through July 2023.

Parents and guardians will be responsible for locating the nearest county bus route to and from their student’s school and for finding the safest walking routes to and from the nearest bus stops. Public transportation safety tips are available here.

Students who have already paid for a second quarter pass or bus coupons may request a refund after receiving their county bus pass at bit.ly/STSB-refund. School bus refund requests should be made only after receiving the county bus pass to avoid premature deactivation of the school bus pass.

For more information, visit bit.ly/HIDOEstudent-transportation.