UH-Hilo aims to improve transportation for students

As the University of Hawaii at Hilo continues to expand, administrators are exploring ways to increase student access to off-campus areas in and throughout Hilo.

Only 50 percent of the school’s nearly 4,000 students purchased campus parking permits, according to University Relations Director Jerry Chang, leaving about 2,000 students with few options when it comes to getting around town.

In the past, UH-Hilo experimented with ways of providing alternative transportation on and off campus, but little has managed to catch on, he said.

“Last year, we approached the county about having bus service on the weekends for our students to get into town or to the mall,” Chang said. “So, we did have this special service that came Friday and Saturday nights, and it did a route. They had to pay $2. It was subsidized by the county.”

However, he said, “The ridership was very poor.”

Long waits and the fact the routes didn’t hit many stops of interest were problems that stood in the way of the bus becoming a hit, he said.

This year, the campus is trying a few new initiatives in the hope they will have more success.

Jake Picus, the associate director for new student programs, says a campus bike-sharing program has gotten off to a strong start, with each of the campus’ fleet of 10 bicycles seeing regular use by students, faculty and staff.

The bikes are recycled, having been abandoned on campus. University Auxiliary Services staff fixed them up, painted them and stenciled numbers on the bikes. They also perform minimal upkeep on the bicycles, such as fixing flats, and offer them to be loaned out for free on a daily basis.

Picus said the bikes can be seen being used around campus, but often it appears they are being used for trips into town.

“They’re not gone for only an hour,” he said. “They’re gone all day. They’re taking them downtown.”

The bicycles are kept in the designated bike rack at the University Concierge Desk located between the Student Services Center and the College of Business &Economics building, and are available to be checked out anytime between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Meanwhile, the university is working on an app that will allow students to arrange shared cab rides through the county’s Shared Ride Taxi Program.

Still in its early planning stages, the program is a project of computer science students Lars Bergstrom and Greg Morton, under the guidance of Tom DeWitt, director of UH-Hilo’s Applied Learning Experiences program.

The ride-sharing program has been available to students on campus for some time, but many of them simply aren’t aware of what is available, said Seantelle Mendonsa of Ace One Taxi.

“They’ll want to use their credit cards and debit cards, and we’ll tell them, ‘But, you can use the coupons. You can get them on campus,’” she said.

Using the coupons offered through the county-subsidized program, students can get rides for as little as $2 for door-to-door transportation within the urbanized area of Hilo, as long as the trip is limited to 9 miles.

Organizers hope by making an app that will allow students to book rides and find people in their area willing to share a cab, the service will be used more widely on campus.

Last week, UH-Hilo student Pelenatete Leilua, who is working on a marketing campaign for the Share Ride program, conducted a survey of more than 100 students on campus. She found only 26 percent of them knew what a shared ride was and how to use it.

“We’re working to create awareness,” she said.

For more information about UH-Hilo’s Bike Share program, visit http://hilo.hawaii.edu/campusinfo/BikeShare.php.

Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.