In an effort to ease Hawaii’s severe shortage of public school bus drivers, Gov. Josh Green has signed an emergency proclamation that temporarily allows vehicles other than school buses to be used to transport students.

The proclamation temporarily suspends 13 provisions of law through at least Oct. 15 to allow alternate vehicles such as motor coaches, minibuses and vans to be used by state contractors to transport students.

The proclamation should “help to broaden the pool of potential drivers by allowing current (commercial driver’s license) drivers the option to apply for school bus driver positions without the federal endorsement that is typically required for school buses,” Nanea Kalani, communications director at the state Department of Education, said in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii and the United States as a whole have been severely short of drivers for years, with historically low pay, difficult working conditions, including student misbehavior, and the COVID-19 pandemic among the reasons. DOE officials have said the state’s bus contractors have been short more than 200 of the roughly 650 drivers needed to fully staff Hawaii’s public school bus routes.

Since the new school year began Aug. 1, bus routes have been fully or partially suspended for about 1,130 students at 10 Oahu public high schools, and 250 students at four schools on Kauai. Affected students have been encouraged to use public transportation.

Green in his proclamation declared the bus shortage and its effects on students as an emergency in the City and County of Honolulu, the County of Kauai and the state, and says it “may occur in other counties of the state.”

The proclamation allows commercial driver’s license holders with a “P” endorsement, for driving passenger vehicles, to use such alternate vehicles to transport students. An “S” endorsement is required by state law to drive a regular school bus.

Kalani said another benefit of the emergency proclamation is increased awareness of the bus driver shortage, which could lead more community members to apply for these critical jobs.

“The hope is that this can at least kick-start recruitment efforts for existing CDL drivers,” she said.

The DOE plans to organize job fairs statewide, Kalani said.

“On Molokai, this change helps hiring efforts significantly since CDL testing and certification are now only offered on Maui.”

Meanwhile, unrelated to the proclamation, several bus routes on Kauai are being restored, Kalani said. Bus service for Hanalei Elementary School will be reinstated today for students residing in Wainiha and Haena. And bus service for Kapa‘a Elementary will also be reinstated today for students living in the following areas:

>> Olohena Road, Huiki Road, Kaapuni Road, Kawaihau, Waialeale Estates and Hulu Manu Estates.

>> Anahola, Kealia Post Office, Kawaihau Road and Puu Kaa subdivision.