Hawaii lets officials suspend unprovided school bus service

The superintendent may suspend or remove part of a student transportation contract. This applies to a contracted service capacity or designated service segment that the contractor fails to serve. The superintendent may set conditions, timelines, and other limits to protect the public interest. The contractor must miss service for five or more consecutive instructional days before the superintendent may act.

The superintendent may make an interim agreement with another qualified carrier to provide the affected transportation. This applies to service capacity or segments suspended or removed from a student transportation contract. The agreement must follow emergency procurement rules, cover only the suspended or removed service, and meet student safety standards. The department must complete a competitive procurement for permanent replacement service within twelve months after making the interim agreement. The interim agreement may last up to twelve months or the remainder of the school year, whichever is shorter. The department must complete a competitive procurement within twelve months after making the agreement.

The department may penalize a contractor that fails to provide contracted service without approved justification. This applies to a contractor that fails to provide a contracted service capacity or designated service segment without approved justification. Under existing procurement remedies and rules, the penalty may be up to the daily contract rate or liquidated damages equal to the reasonable cost of replacement transportation, whichever is greater, for each day service is unfulfilled. Collected penalties go into the school bus fare revolving fund and may help pay for replacement transportation. A penalty may apply for each day the contracted service is unfulfilled.