Rainbow Shuttle expands to Waikiki and beyond; free six-week trial begins August 24

Shuttle will extend from UH Manoa residence halls to Waikiki, Ala Moana, Ward complex, and Restaurant Row five nights a week

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Jim Manke, (808) 956-6099
UH Manoa Chancellor's Office
Posted: Aug 23, 2006

A new route for the UH Manoa Rainbow Shuttle opens up this week to provide transportation alternatives for students to get to Waikiki, Ala Moana, Ward Warehouse and as far as Restaurant Row. The service — designed primarily to meet the needs of on-campus resident students — begins on Thursday, August 24.

"We plan to run the shuttle for a free six-week trial period five afternoons and evenings each week to see what the demand is," said Vice Chancellor for Students Francisco Hernandez. "This is just one more way to make sure our students minimize the need for cars if they live in the residence halls."

The shuttle will operate Thursday through Monday, with the first run leaving student housing at 4:00 p.m. and the last run returning to the campus at about midnight.

"We need to credit ASUH Senator Mike Theune with the idea for the shuttle run," Hernandez said. "He knew there was a need for such a service, and he sat down and came up with the suggested route and the stops. The parking office worked from there to set the schedule and arrange for the vehicles and drivers as an extension of our free on-campus shuttle service."

Shuttle buses will leave student housing and make their way down Kapahulu Avenue and through the Waikiki area on Kuhio Avenue. Shuttles will then head to Ala Moana Center, the Ward entertainment and shopping complex and then to Restaurant Row. The route will then be reversed by heading back to Ala Moana Park, Fort DeRussy, Kuhio Beach and then up Kapahulu to the Manoa campus. The entire circuit will take about two hours, with shuttles scheduled to leave UH at 4, 6, 8 and 10 p.m., with the last bus arriving back at UH about midnight.

The shuttle service will be free for the first month to anyone showing a valid UH ID card — Thursday, August 24 through Saturday, September 30. If the trial period proves successful, students will be asked to buy a $20 shuttle pass for the remainder of the semester. Anyone who already has the U-PASS $100-per-semester city bus pass will be allowed to use the shuttle service at no additional charge.

"We are excited about this new service for students who travel to these areas for their jobs and entertainment," said Manoa Chancellor Denise Konan. "We are grateful to ASUH and especially Senator Theune for being responsive to resident students and taking the initiative to move the idea along. Our parking office has put together a great transportation package. We are hoping that the trial runs will be successful enough to make the service permanent."