Students at McKinley High School are expressing disappointment over the changes to the EXPRESS HOLO card program. Previously available to all students from 2023 to 2024, the cards now have new eligibility requirements due to funding issues. Funding for the EXPRESS program, which began in November 2022 to address the school bus driver shortage, has become limited. A significant portion of the funding was redirected to support relief efforts following the Lahaina fire in the 2023-2024 school year. As a result, the program now has stricter eligibility criteria for students.
Megan Omura, adm
inistrator for the Hawaii Department of Education’s Student Transportation Services branch, said that these funding limitations have impacted the availability of the HOLO cards.
“Funding issues have restricted its availability to only qualifying students,” Omura said in an email. “Funding has been limited due to the implementation of new school bus contracts starting in the 2024-2025 school year.”
Omura also said that, with the onset of the new school bus contracts statewide, the program had to incorporate the transportation qualifications indicated in the Hawaii Administrative rules that apply to all school bus riders.
To be qualified this year, students must live more than 1.5 miles from school and be within the district to qualify for a free HOLO card. This change has sparked frustration among students, including Anthony Fontana (c/o of 2025), who feels the requirements are too strict.
“The requirements for being able to purchase the HOLO card should be a bit less than a mile, maybe about a quarter of a mile,” Fontana said.
Keoni Bickel (c/o 2026) lives just outside McKinley’s district.
“I either have to bike to school now or pay like three dollars per day to get to school. It says more than 1.5 miles. So I applied there, but then they have this district thing,” Bickel said.
Devan Coloma (c/o 2026) believes a free HOLO card should be available to all students, regardless of distance or district.
“I don’t think they should have any requirements for it,” Coloma said.
Science teacher Osamu Ono has also weighed in, suggesting that the HOLO card should be available to all students who need it, regardless of their situation.
“It should be the same or equal to everyone that needs it,” Ono said. “There could be many different reasons why students need the HOLO card. Distance can be one; another issue would be family situations.”
