In response to the chronic school bus driver shortage, Hawaii public high school students are being offered free city and county bus passes to use on Oahu, Kauai and Maui under a pilot project launched Monday.

The free passes, available to students in grades 9-12, are being subsidized by the state Department of Education in partnership with counties in a program called EXPRESS, for Expanding Ridership to Educate Students in Schools.

On Hawaii island, where Hele-On county buses already are free to ride, high school students are being encouraged to use them more, and to register with the EXPRESS program so their county bus use can be counted.

The goal of the EXPRESS pilot project is to encourage high school students to opt for county buses instead of school buses. As that leaves some school buses underused, they can then be reassigned to restore canceled and consolidated routes in the second semester, DOE officials said.

Shortages of school bus drivers have been a long-standing problem nationwide, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when many schools shifted to online learning and school bus drivers changed jobs or retired in droves. Recovery has been hindered by the long hiring process. Federal law requires school bus drivers to earn their commercial driver’s license and two endorsements, and qualifying can take three to six months, DOE officials said.

Ideally, there should be 700 school bus drivers serving Hawaii’s public schools, but right now there are only about 550, so many bus routes have had to be consolidated, or temporarily suspended at times.

“Like other school districts across the nation, Hawaii is addressing a shortage of school bus drivers that has led to canceled routes, schedule delays and passenger waitlists, as our contractors work hard to maintain services with fewer drivers,” state schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement. “We started this school year down roughly 90 bus drivers, and every bus we can reassign will help us to prioritize impacted routes at our elementary and intermediate schools.”

Students with an active DOE student ID number can sign up for the EXPRESS program at iportal.k12.hi.us/express. Approved applicants will receive confirmation and free bus passes directly from their schools.

Hawaii public schools statewide have more than 45,000 students in grades 9-12. Approximately 6,000 high school students use school buses to get to and from school statewide, DOE Student Transportation Serv­ices Administrator Emily Evans said.

“Students who choose to participate in EXPRESS gain access to a means of transportation that isn’t limited to school transportation; they are free to use their pass as needed,” Evans said.

The free city and county bus passes under the EXPRESS program may be of particular benefit to the more than 21,000 students — or 47% of high school students — who are ineligible to use school buses because they live within the “walk zone” of their school campus, which is 1 mile from school for elementary school students and 1.5 miles for secondary students, DOE officials said.

Oahu EXPRESS participants will receive one county pass that will be valid through July. The DOE is subsidizing the passes for the school year, while support from Honolulu Hale will keep them active through July. Recipients on Kauai, Maui and Hawaii island will receive passes good for each month through July.

Parents and guardians will be responsible for locating the nearest county bus route to and from their student’s school, and for finding the safest walking routes to and from the nearest bus stops, DOE officials said. Public transportation safety tips are available at bit.ly/HIDOE-EXPRESS.

“We want to emphasize that EXPRESS may not be for every family,” Evans said. “We want to ask that you think about your student and you consider the following thoughts: Do they have a way to communicate with you? If they get off at the wrong stop, could they ‘course correct’? Could they find their way back to school or home? What is your student’s level of situational awareness, and do they take safety seriously? If you do choose to sign up, please make sure to read the public transit safety information that’s on our website, as well as the respective island transit county websites.”

Families who have already paid for a second- quarter pass or bus coupons may request a refund at bit.ly/STSB-refund after receiving their county bus pass. Refund requests should be made only after receiving the county bus pass to avoid premature deactivation of the school bus pass.

ADA (Americans With Disability Act) and Paratransit services are not included in the EXPRESS program. For more information, visit bit.ly/HIDOEstudent- transportation.

Meanwhile, the DOE continues to work on additional transportation solutions, including active recruiting of school bus drivers, and offering mileage reimbursements to families that can’t get bus service, Evans said. Families can apply for reimbursements through their respective schools, she said.

The EXPRESS passes aren’t much help to rural students who would have to wait in the pre-dawn dark along roads without sidewalks, said state Rep. Jeanne Kapela (D, Naalehu-Captain Cook-Keauhou), whose Big Island district has been plagued with bus shortages. She said ultimately, more permanent solutions are needed, including better pay to attract school bus drivers for the long term.

School buses are contracted via companies such as Roberts Hawaii School Bus and Ground Transport Inc. Some companies are reporting improved hiring through better pay and benefits, Kapela said.

School bus schedules make it hard to get a second job, so “we have to give them a living wage,” along with more respect, Kapela said. “We have to understand the importance of these individuals within our education system.”