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People in HPP will ride them.
Hele-On should be charging a "private road surcharge" on fares whenever they pick up passengers in a private subdivision, with a waiver for residents of their respective private roads.
Anything else is "freeloading".
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Leave it the Big Island to spend money on more routes before fixing the routes that already exist. Typical buffoonery.
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From the article: ". . . it will be several months before the new routes come into play. The county must first execute a memorandum of agreement with the state Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration, he said."
So yes, Joe, typical county stuff. Half the bus fleet is not operational and they are currently auditing the cash handling, which wouldn't be an issue if the bus were still free. We note that there is only the vaguest notion of when the new service will begin and prominent mention of bureaucratic obstacles yet to overcome. Oh, and I wouldn't be surprised if they managed to waste some money on a contractor study or two while they sort all that out.
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wouldn't be surprised if they managed to waste some money on a contractor study or two
I'm sure it will take long enough that all the staff need raises, too.
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OR, at least a couple days paid leave for county employees, at the descreation of the mayor in chief (ah la Kauai), cost Kauai residents +- $600,000... Kauai county must be flush!
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What the heck is wrong with half the busses that our own people can't fix? I understand getting many parts is going to take time, but?? If it's engine or transmission problems, can't they remove these components, ship them to some shops in the western US, and have them shipped back? That's if we don't have the talent here to do the repairs. I did large truck fleet maintenance in the Seattle area for 24 years.Now I'm just a sick old retired has been, but geez.....
Maybe there are shops on Oahu that could do the work? Or hire some talent from the mainland to come here for a year or two and whip this fleet into shape.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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Big Island, the final frontier. These are the routes of the Hele On Bus Fleet. Or it would be if The County embarks on a five year mission to repair engines and overhaul transmissions, to boldly find strange new mechanics so then and only then they may go to 1st Steet, where no bus has gone before.
"This is an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water.” - President Donald J. Trump
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Isn’t the Big Island the place Oahu sends their old buses to die a slow death?
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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The problem with Hele-On is not the aging fleet, it's the utter failure to create routes that make sense.
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utter failure to create routes that make sense
This is actually a symptom (consequence) of the "no civic planning" -- never forget Puna is the "world's largest cul-de-sac", with lots of dead-end side roads.
The proposed "hub & spoke" system (translation: all buses go to Hilo, where you can transfer between them) will make things worse.
