When thousands of North Shore Oʻahu residents were told to evacuate Friday, some city bus drivers made the trip back toward the evacuation zones to help residents get to safety.
Some daily TheBus routes were either partially or fully closed due to blocked and damaged roads, which meant many drivers were then tasked with bringing residents to safe zones and shelter areas.
Jon Nouchi, the director of transit for Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services, said discussions between partner agencies to determine what vehicles and resources could be available in case of an emergency started the week before the evacuation notices.
“Evacuation response is very dynamic, so we have very little time to stand up a predetermined response,” Nouchi said.
“But we do know where the need exists, and then we have to look at the time of when it happens, where it happens, and what resources we have in the area to stand up as quickly as possible.”
Nouchi said the evacuation was a coordinated effort between the city, emergency services, and federal partners. The city’s Ocean Safety Department, the Coast Guard, and the National Guard picked up residents who were still in dangerous areas and dropped them off at designated safe zones, where bus drivers could pick them up and take them to shelters.
The buses operated for free and were on a “flag stop” system, meaning there were no predetermined stops, and residents along the route could wave TheBus down to get picked up, along with any belongings and pets they had with them.
Nouchi said bus drivers were immediately willing to fill in, which he said is a reflection of the work they always do for their communities.
He added that the willingness to step up goes beyond the drivers and extends to the support staff behind bus operations as well, including road supervisors who surveyed the routes to make sure they were safe to carry a full-size bus.
“When called in an emergency, they step up, and they provide almost akin to a first responder's level of service to go in when things are uncertain,” Nouchi said.
“I think it speaks a lot to their willingness to step up. A lot of times they don't get the regard or the respect or the aloha that they deserve for the important role that they play in our community.”
The latest updates on disrupted bus routes can be found here.
