2026-01-12 Transportation Commission Meeting Minutes

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• Update on Hele-On's bus route modifications &ridership. Mass Transit is currently looking at ridership and routes to modify to better fit community needs. • Update on Mass Transit Agency's Battery Electric Bus charging station. Mass Transit currently uses a mobile charger. Mass Transit has been running the battery electric buses on the Kona side. On a trial run on saddle road the bus arrived in Kona with an 80 percent charge left on the battery. The bus was recharged at Roberts Hawaii in Kona,which took one hour to charge it back to 100 percent. The bus then arrived back in Hilo with a 79 percent charge left on the battery. Mass Transit will be running some of the buses in Kona for daily operations. Commissioner McBride at 1:43 p.m. asked if it was an empty bus, as to which Administrator Bergum answered yes it was an empty bus. • Hele-On vehicle/road audits; driver's hours, and passenger behavior report. After a driver has 8 hours of rest, there is no more than 10 hours behind the wheel driving time. Road audits and bus inspections are completed as well as driver knowledge checks of wheelchair lifts. Chair Terlep at 1:44 p.m. asked the commissioners if there were any questions. Commissioner McBride asked if the drivers were staying within their hours and if the drivers fill out their reports as to which Administrator Bergum stated that Mass Transit must closely monitor that and everything is tracked. Commissioner Molina asked if the bus drivers wait for the designated pick-up times as there have been issues with drivers leaving early causing riders to miss the bus. Administrator Bergum stated that there are associated times with each stop. Commissioner Molina stated that in this incident she called Hele-On who stated there was another bus on its way, so the passengers were able to get onto the next bus going to the same destination. She stated that she just wants to make sure that the new hires are aware of the designated pick-up times. Administrator Bergum thanked Commissioner Molina for providing that information and asked Commissioner Molina if she was able to catch the day or time of the pickups to please share and Mass Transit would be happy to track that down. Commissioner McBride asked what the protocol was for a rider that is rude. Administrator Bergum stated that Mass Transit has Rules of the Road and exercises trespass notices for the safety and security of the drivers and other passengers. He stated that there is security on some of the buses who can intervene and communicate with the driver who then communicates with dispatch and police. He stated that in this kind of situation it can be arranged where there will be police at the next bus stop or location to pull over where police can intervene and issue a trespass notice. Commissioner McBride expressed concern about the female drivers in the early mornings and late evenings and asked if they are trained to handle passengers on the bus. Administrator Bergum responded yes and that Robert's Hawai'i, the contractor for the Hele-On bus is who does the hiring of drivers and conducting of training. Emma Waters a Healthy and Active Living Coordinator with Hawaii Public Health Institute (HEAL Coalition) stated a lot of people bring up safety issues and concerns when transportation is free. Mrs. Waters asked if safety problems increased when Mass Transit went fare free. Administrator Bergum stated that Mass Transit did not see a big difference. He stated that some differences that were seen were that it is beneficial to have more people who want to ride the bus and that Mass Transit encourages people to ride the bus so then in turn it's lighter on the traffic. Mrs. Waters stated that it may be a fear for some people with the thought that people experiencing homelessness are going to be on the bus and kids are going to be on it hanging out and causing trouble. Administrator Bergum stated that sometimes there are problems with homelessness, sometimes with school-aged kids, and sometimes with service animals, it really