As prom season ramps up again, thousands of high school students have secured their formal attire and ordered flowers for their dates. But there’s another big decision teens have to make regarding transportation: Hawaii’s graduated driver’s license program can affect their ability to drive late at night, and who wants to roll up to prom at a Waikiki hotel behind the wheel of the family minivan?

While limousine companies have operated in Honolulu for decades, students eager to experience prom as a group from start to finish have increasingly turned to tricked-out commercial transport vehicles commonly known as party buses. Bigger than a traditional limousine, a party bus can accommodate 15 or more passengers, with included luxury amenities like extra-strength air conditioning, audio/video entertainment systems with multiple monitors, private rooms, nightclub-style lighting and plenty of cooler and counter space for food and drinks.

Keona Mora is a junior at Campbell High School who has attended prom the last two years. After being driven by her parents two years ago, she joined her date last year and 18 other friends aboard a party bus that departed from Mora’s house in Ewa Beach.

“It was an upgrade,” Mora said. “It’s more fun on a party bus, and it was just easier to arrive with all the people you know and are going to sit with. People were looking at us because the party bus was pretty big. It was like, ‘Hey, everybody, what’s up, we’re here!’”

Oahu Party Bus owner Gene Simeona took over the business four years ago that has since transported more than 60,000 customers and gone from a single party bus to offering seven vehicles in two sizes.

“You can walk in with your big prom dress, and then you can get up and boogie during the trip,” Simeona said.

Lauryn Suwa, a junior at Kamehameha, has ridden on a party bus twice and said the experience allows for groups of friends to make a “big entrance” that will make others “look and stare” as they disembark.

“They fit a lot of people and can play music pretty loud. We were screaming and dancing around, enjoying each other’s company. And they have couches for you to sit on, but there’s still enough room to dance. It’s really fun.”

Local high school administrators pointed to a change in the law about a decade ago that makes it harder for inexperienced drivers under age 18 to travel together in large groups late at night as a contributing factor to the rise in popularity of the party bus, especially for students who live farther away from Waikiki hotels where the majority of proms are held.

When Hawaii transitioned to a graduated driver’s license system in 2006, teens no longer received unrestricted licenses after passing a road test. New drivers under the age of 18 must now hold an instruction permit for six months before applying for a restricted provisional license, which must remain valid for another six months before the driver can apply for an unrestricted license.

Many Oahu teens eligible to drive during prom season hold provisional licenses that generally prohibit them from driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and restrict them from transporting more than one person under the age of 18 without being accompanied by a parent, guardian or other household member with a valid license of their own.

“We find that the parents think it’s a lot safer,” said Oahu Party Bus co-owner Stacie Lono. “They know the kids can’t drink because our drivers will card them so there’s no funny business. And then they’ll know when their kids are going to be home, since someone else is behind the wheel.”

Oahu Party Bus rates start at $150 per hour for a bus that seats up to 15, $200 per hour for a bus that seats 25. Call 639-8687 or click here for more information.