HILO, Hawaii – Work has begun on a new $11 million New Mass Transit Baseyard and Maintenance Facility in Hilo.

The Hawaii County Office of the Mayor issued a media release on a recent groundbreaking, and provided the video for the short clip we posted above.

MEDIA RELEASE

The County of Hawai‘i’s Mass Transit Agency broke ground on a new baseyard and maintenance facility in Hilo on February 11. The new facility will streamline current operations and allow room for the islandwide Hele-On Bus system to grow.

“We have 55 buses that move around an island the size of the state of Connecticut. Every day they have to launch and cover from Kohala to Ka‘u, Hilo to Kona,” said Mayor Billy Kenoi, who has emphasized growing public transportation on Hawai‘i Island during his administration. The system now provides about a million rides annually. “It’s about getting our families around safely. Our community can be safer, less traffic, more livable for our families.”

Mass Transit Administrator Tiffany Kai, area Councilman Dennis “Fresh” Onishi, and Councilman Danny Paleka, who chairs the Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit, also offered remarks at the ceremony. Pastor Sheldon Lacsina of New Hope Hilo offered the day’s blessing.

The 5-acre baseyard will have ample room to park the Hele-On system’s buses, with a 26,000 square foot facility that will include maintenance bays, an automated bus wash, a fueling station, and administrative offices.

Construction of the $11.2 million project is expected to be complete in November.