Kahului HI
5-21-2026 1:47pm

Maui Looks Into ‘Star Trek’ Transporters Amid Bus Breakdowns

Beam Me Up, Braddah!

Currently up a creek without a paddle due to multiple bus breakdowns, Maui County officials are investigating the viability of installing Star Trek transporters for public transportation on island.

With many newfangled Maui electric buses inoperable, and apparently very difficult to repair, and older buses also having troubles, county officials look back to the future to get people from points A to B.

“The transporters always looked pretty cool, and it made us think, Why not on Maui?” said Gaylord Imua, director of public transport for the county. “After all, we’re in the business of transportation, right? Can we skip the vehicles, and still transport?”

Earlier this month, Imua said the number of buses in the process of repairs could be considered a “historic crisis” for this department and busing contractor.

At the time, county officials said they considered buying off Temu for Maui Bus services, for affordability and fast shipping.

“That idea flopped because China needs oil to ship buses, and they get almost all their oil from the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz, and President Trump doesn’t like China sneaking oil through there. So, in a way, the bus dilemma on Maui is impacted by what is happening with Iran.”

Enter talks of Star Trek transporters. In the classic television series and motion pictures, human beings had their molecules electronically scattered at one spot, then invisibly zapped somewhere else, to ultimately re-gather at a new location. There, their molecules would rearrange back into the original human being.

Sometimes, however, transporters malfunctioned, and viewers witnessed scenes where incomplete visuals of humans could be seen flickering in and out, until *poof* they disappeared. Mostly episodes left it up to viewers to think, Where did those persons end up?

“There are some questions about transporters for Maui, of course, and we have our risk management experts looking into it,” Imua said. “Losing passengers entirely would suck. Losing parts of passengers would suck even worse.”

Officials hope to have preliminary information about transporters by the end of June. Meanwhile, Maui Bus riders must continue hoping buses arrive on time as scheduled, and that the buses they hop onto make it to their destination.

Matthew Oopa of Kahului shared some of his experiences the past 10 days with Maui Insight:

May 13

“Hey, your Maui Bus eye on the ground. Currently riding in the white baggage bus which cannot close the front door. So we're driving with it open. The bus back from Kihei today couldn't open the back door.”

May 17

“Your Maui Bus field researcher report:

The second Kahului route bus broke down. They now have no new or semi-new buses left. The word is the broken new ones require expensive repairs, and they do not have parts to fix them in stock.

Just passed the broken down Kahului bus. It's right at the Hale Mahaolu bus stop. It's a brand new all electric model.”

May 18

“Another day another bus problem. On the luggage bus on the Kahului bus, the front door wouldn't close. Extra A/C!”

For the Maui transporter project, besides the risk management concerns, officials have questions about where such transporters would be located, and whether any infrastructure will be needed at destinations.

“Who would manage the transporters? Would we need newfangled bus stops?” Imua pondered. “And, can they transport to any location? If we have to secure landing spots, imagine the number of transporter locations we’ll have available once all the short-term vacation rental condos are empty.”

Editor's Notes: Maui Bus drivers are among the best in the world, according to our editor, editorial board, and super secret advisers. And the staff at the bus depot are pretty darn cool, too.

Maui bus transporters images created by TheRHINO. The Star Trek meme was stolen off the internet.

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