Maui Bus

The first public transit service on Maui started in 1992 with two loop routes in Central Maui operated by the non-profit organization Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO). These were operated over the same route in opposite directions, offered free of charge with a suggested donation.

The Maui Bus service was started as the Holo Kaʻa service in August 2002 with a joint venture between the private company Akina Aloha Tours, MEO, and the county government in a subsidized joint venture to provide bus service for South, West, and Central Maui. Low ridership (blamed on the lack of advertising for the system) led to Akina Aloha Tours losing $1 million over the following two years.

Service was reduced in July 2004 to five transit routes: three operated by Roberts Hawaii, one by Akina Aloha Tours (privately financed), and the one bidirectional route by MEO. The Roberts routes were named Routes A, B, and C: Route A operated between Maʻalea Harbor Village and the Shops at Wailea via Kihei [which is now Route #15]; Route B connected Kahului to Wharf Cinema Center (in Lahaina) via Maʻalea [now Route #20]; and Route C connected the Queen Kaʻahumanu Center with the Shops at Wailea [now Route #10]. The MEO routes served Central Maui (Wailuku and Kahului) with a loop route operated in opposite directions [now Routes #1/2 and #5/6]. The Akina Aloha route operated between Kaʻanapali and Lahaina [now Route #28].

The Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP) published in January 2005 evaluated contemporary demand and service conditions and developed the current fixed routes, including the expansion of service to Upcountry Maui. The 2005 SRTP also developed the branding and logo of Maui Bus, which began operations in 2006; the fixed and commuter routes are operated by Roberts Hawaii, while the paratransit services are operated by MEO. Ridership rose sharply over the ten years between 2002 and 2012, from less than 200,000 (annual passengers) to more than 2,500,000.

August 2023 wildfires

Due to the 2023 Hawaii wildfires, fare collection was suspended from August 23, 2023 until January 31, 2024. Due to evacuations in Lahaina, routes 20, 23, 25, and 28 were discontinued and replaced with a temporary route 29, running express from Kahului to Kaʻanapali (with a stop in Ma'alaea) via the Lahaina bypass before continuing along the former route 28. On November 5, 2023, a stop at Lahiana Cannery Mall was added to route 29, and a modified route 23, providing limited local service in Lahiana, was reintroduced.

Service

The current Maui Bus service includes 13 fixed routes, 4 commuter routes, and a paratransit program that provides curb-to-curb service with advance reservations, serving western, central, and southern communities, including Wailuku, Kahului, Lahaina, Haiku, Kula, and Upcountry Maui.

Fixed routes

The Central Maui System includes the routes numbered with a single digit. The (southern) Kihei Route System includes routes numbered in the 10s. The (western) Lahaina, Kaʻanapali and Napili Route System includes routes numbered in the 20s. The Upcountry Route System includes routes numbered in the 30s, including #40. On average, 6,500 passengers board the Maui Bus fixed-route system, with an average per-passenger trip cost of $2.47.

For fixed-route service, Loop services operate within Central Maui, Villager services are routes that circulate within a single community (Lahaina, Kihei, and Kula), and Islander services are longer routes that connect different communities to Central Maui. Most of the Islander routes connect at a privately owned site at the Queen Kaʻahumanu Center shopping mall in Kahului, where transfers can be made to other Islander routes or the local Loop/Villager routes. Other significant transfer and boarding sites include Wharf Cinema Center, Whalers Village, Piʻilani Village Shopping Center, and War Memorial Stadium. The War Memorial Stadium site is used as a park-and-ride or drop-off location for three of the four commuter routes.

Both the Kahului and Wailuku Loops are bidirectionally operated over the same routes: #1 (Wailuku Loop) and #6 (Kahului) operate clockwise, while #2 (Waikluki) and #5 (Kahului) operate counter-clockwise. Officially, #2 and #6 are the reverse routes.