LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Transportation Agency has undergone a nearly $3 million revamp of its public transportation system, as county officials announced this week they are set to receive 10 new buses, two new service trucks and a redesign of the agency’s logo.
“Thanks to federal grants and county matching funds, the Kaua‘i Bus received new replacement buses that will replace older vehicles in our fleet,” said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami in a statement, following a blessing ceremony for the buses and new logo at the Kaua‘i Bus Baseyard in Lihue on Thursday.
“These new vehicles come equipped with the latest safety and technological features. In addition, as part of the 2018 Short Range Transit Plan’s rebranding effort, the buses will also display a new logo.”
The 10 buses, which cost $2.6 million, and two service trucks, which cost $212,000, will officially replace older models over the course of the next month, according to Celia Mahikoha, an executive on transportation for the Transportation Agency.
“Replacements will happen over the course of the next month as we complete final acceptance inspections,” she said in an email response.
The county reportedly has a total of 60 buses in its fleet.
Mahikoha described the two service trucks as “heavy-duty Ford pickups with equipment for off-site bus repairs.”
The replacement vehicles will also feature the new logo, designed in an effort to modernize the vehicles’ look and significance.
The new logo features two light blue and teal ribbons and pays homage to the original 1990s-era green, sugar-cane-inspired design.
“The green font symbolizes Kaua‘i, the sugar cane fields, and The Kaua‘i Bus’s history. The ‘wind’ depicted below portrays movement from mauna (mountain) to makai (ocean), and the many roads traveled on the island while ensuring safety, comfort and Aloha for the community,” a county official said on the new design in a statement.
The logo’s design was completed at the end of the 2021 calendar year, when it also first appeared on county bus passes.
A local design firm was paid $1,500 to design the new logo, according to Mahikoha.
Aside from the vehicles themselves, the logos will also be featured in bus shelters and on bus employee uniforms.
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Emma Grunwald, reporter, can be reached 808-652-0638 or egrunwald@thegardenisland.com.
Please— Koloa and Poipu need covered bus stops/ we have no place to sit … we don’t even have 1 covered bus stop,,,,
Does this do anything to improve the actual service or create new routes that mitigate traffic in the eastern corridor? Bus route from Nawiliwil to Kealia beach?
What!! No electric busses? I thought you people were Climate Change fanatics- 100% electric by 2030 and all that. Maybe the price tag brought you back to reality.