HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Ahead of the new school year for public school students, parents are expressing concerns over the ride-share app the Hawaii state Department of Education is offering due to the ongoing bus driver shortage and suspended routes.
The service, called GoKid, was launched by the Hawaii state Department of Education and allows parents to arrange carpools to get their kids to and from school.
“I feel like when they tell us that we need to do a ride share app, almost feels like they want to just get an Uber for our kids,” said Kaapuni Aiwohi, whose daughter is in the seventh grade at Kalama Intermediate School on Maui.
Aiwohi said his daughter could not get a spot on a bus because there are not enough drivers, but he is not confident that GoKid is a safe alternative.
“It’s going to be with random parents that we don’t know. Doesn’t make parents feel very safe to join an app that anyone can just sign up,” Aiwohi added. “Now, if it’s statewide, people know that you can start driving around kids, which does not make parents feel any better.”
Aiwohi said other parents agree with him.
“There were over 10 parents that I personally knew that are in this exact same situation. No one at all is satisfied with this answer,” Aiwohi said.
There are nine routes that have been suspended on Maui and Hawaii Island.
“What’s happening now is the same issue that happened last school year, and there was a big mess last year,” Aiwohi added. “It seems like there’s going to be a big mess again this year. If we started this app for possibly next school year, okay, that makes sense. But you’re going to give it to us a week before school starts. That doesn’t seem like there was any planning that went into this.”
While GoKid is not mandatory, Aiwohi is disappointed there are no other options, saying, “Getting this notification for this app seems like a last minute cop out.”
We reached out to the HIDOE for comment earlier this week, and we are waiting to hear back.
An email Aiwohi received from Kalama Intermediate announcing its partnership with GoKid mentioned, “The service is intended to help families get students to and from school while easing the impact of bus driver shortages and reducing traffic around campuses.”
The email added, “We’re excited about this initiative to ease families’ daily transportation burden.”
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
