Honolulu’s TheBus Route 2 connecting Kalihi to Waikiki will offer service 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting early Sunday morning.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell made the announcement at a news conference Wednesday morning at a North School Street bus stop fronting Kapalama Elementary School, along the busy route.

“It’s about helping people live better on this very small island of almost a million people,” said Caldwell. “Today we’re here to announce that Route 2 that comes right by here is going to be operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week to make sure that folks here in Kalihi can get into Waikiki and back home again without having to worry about the last bus.”

The extension of service through the night will cost the city an additional $400,000 to cover a two-hour gap between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., bringing the annual cost of operating the route to $8.6 million. The new 24/7 bus route joins an existing one, Route 40 between Makaha and Ala Moana Center, that began 24-hour service on the same day 17 years ago.

“We’re committed, absolutely committed, to continuing to expand our bus system to make it even more vigorous, more robust,” said Caldwell, “and to make sure that we are a city in the 21st century that provides transportation alternatives to our cars.”

Route 2 runs from Kalihi Transit Center along Middle Street through Liliha, North School Street, through downtown and along Kalakaua Avenue to Kapiolani Community College and back. Currently, the route serves about 18,000 passengers on each weekday with about 20 buses.

At 2 a.m. the bus from Waikiki returning to Kalihi is always packed as riders scramble to get the last bus of the night back to Kalihi, according to Jenny Lemaota, senior vice president and deputy general manager of TheBus. “So this will give (riders) ease of mind,” she said.

Honolulu City Councilman Joey Manahan, whose district includes Kalihi, said the additional hours would mean more options and less anxiety for working families that commute on the route.

“Honolulu has become a 24-hour city,” said Jon Nouchi, deputy director of the city Department of Transportation Services.

He said the department was evaluating the entire bus system to see if there were other gaps where a few extra trips could create more 24-hour routes.

Routes 2 and 40 combined offer transportation from Makaha to Waikiki. The city estimated that the overnight Routes 2 and 40 service will make transit available for about 330,000 residents within a half-mile of the bus stops.