KAUA‘I SHORT-RANGE TRANSIT PLAN Final Report February 2018 Table of Contents Page Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................. ES-1 Why a Short-Range Transit Plan? ................................................................................................................................................................. ES-2 What Have We Heard From the Community? ........................................................................................................................................... ES-3 What Are the Key Themes?............................................................................................................................................................................ ES-5 How Do We Improve Transit on Kaua‘i? ..................................................................................................................................................... ES-7 What’s the Timeline? ...................................................................................................................................................................................... ES-24 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1-1 How Is this Report Structured? ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1-2 2 Market Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................ 2-1 Key Findings ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2-2 Transit Potential .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2-3 Transit Need ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2-17 Travel Demand Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................................ 2-27 3 Planning Context ............................................................................................................................................................... 3-1 Key Findings ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3-1 Kaua‘i Multimodal Land Transportation Plan ............................................................................................................................................... 3-2 Kaua‘i Kākou: Kaua‘i County General Plan ................................................................................................................................................. 3-3 Hā‘ena State Park Master Plan ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3-6 Kaua‘i Tourism Strategic Plan Update ........................................................................................................................................................... 3-7 Kōloa-Po‘ipū Area Circulation Plan ............................................................................................................................................................ 3-10 Federal-Aid Highways 2035 Transportation Plan for the District of Kaua‘i ...................................................................................... 3-12 South Kaua‘i Community Plan ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3-13 Kapa‘a Transportation Solutions .................................................................................................................................................................. 3-16 Kaua‘i National Wildlife Refuge Complex Comprehensive Transportation Planning Study ........................................................... 3-19 4 Existing Fixed-Route Transit Services ................................................................................................................................ 4-1 History of the System ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 4-1 Fixed-Route System Overview ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4-4 High Ridership Stops ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 4-11 Peer Review...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4-12 Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | i Route-by-Route Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4-17 5 Transit Operator Interviews ............................................................................................................................................... 5-1 Key Findings ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5-1 Passenger Trends ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 5-1 Paratransit ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5-2 Fixed Route On-Time Performance................................................................................................................................................................. 5-2 Fixed Route Suggestions ................................................................................................................................................................................... 5-3 Operating Challenges ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 5-3 Safety ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5-4 Internal Operations ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 5-4 6 Community Engagement ................................................................................................................................................... 6-1 Stakeholder Outreach ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6-2 Project Website .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6-7 On-Board Survey ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 6-8 Design Your Transit System ........................................................................................................................................................................... 6-22 Marketing Focus Groups ................................................................................................................................................................................ 6-29 Community Engagement Activities ............................................................................................................................................................... 6-31 Online Recommendations Survey ................................................................................................................................................................. 6-33 7 Fixed-Route Operations Plan............................................................................................................................................