The Department of Education is expanding its fledgling school bus reform program and expects to serve an additional 200 kids in the Central Oahu area come November, increasing total ridership in the pilot area to 4,000 students at 36 schools.

At the beginning of the school year, the “Get on Board” initiative restored rides for 350 students who’d had their rides cut when funding cuts forced the department to downsize its school bus program.  

The pilot project is part of an ongoing, multi-phased effort to overhaul a beleaguered system in which lax oversight and limited competition among bus contractors caused the state’s student transportation budget to nearly triple to $70 million between 2006 and 2012.

The students participating in the pilot program — which will now incorporate a new software to track data that can help determine the most efficient bus stop times and routes — don’t have to pay for their rides.

Ray L’Heureux, assistant superintendent of facilities, said the new data is critical to reform efforts.

The new routes will serve 200 students from August Ahrens Elementary, Highlands Intermediate, Pearl City High and Waipahu High.

Photo:  Hawaii school buses are parked outside the state Capitol Building, May 1, 2012. (Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat)

— Alia Wong