WAILUKU, Maui — County officials are hoping buses equipped with bicycle racks will tap into a new market for Maui's growing public transit system.

The island is not particularly known as bike-friendly because of the relatively long distances between major communities and the strong winds that buffet the busy highways.

Three new 25-passenger buses unveiled yesterday are the first in the Maui Bus system to have bicycle racks. An additional six buses have been purchased, also with bicycle racks and wheelchair lifts.

"Honolulu's been doing it for years and there's a huge ridership with bikes," said Walter Enomoto, 42, of the Maui Bicycle Alliance. "It extends your range. You can ride around in Kahului, catch the bus and then ride around in Lahaina."

There are a couple of thousand people on Maui who use bicycles for transportation or road training. Avid cyclist Andrew Irwin, 55, of Wailuku, said he rides most everywhere on the island, but looks forward to having the option of taking his bicycle on the bus.

"It's nice to be able to go somewhere and have use of your bike," he said.

The GM/El Dorado buses were purchased for $97,500 each, with the county covering 20 percent of the cost and the Federal Transit Administration contributing 80 percent. Roberts Hawai'i will operate and maintain the buses on behalf of the county.

The Maui Bus has routes in central, south and west Maui, with connecting service between the three areas. With only seven buses, service has been limited to weekdays from about 7 a.m. to the early evening hours.

The new buses will allow the Maui Bus to expand to the Upcountry region and increase service to seven days a week with longer hours, said Don Medeiros, the county's deputy director of transportation. The expanded service, set to begin July 1, will pick up passengers in Ha'iku, Pa'ia, Makawao and Pukalani and carry them to central Maui, where they will be able to transfer to buses headed for south or west Maui.

The system has been reporting approximately 30,000 boardings a month, with 60 monthly pass holders, Medeiros said. The county coordinates its bus service with transportation provided by the nonprofit Maui Economic Opportunity, which operates about 70 small buses catering largely to the elderly and disabled.

One factor that has slowed public interest in mass transit on Maui is that many commuters work at hotels and other businesses on shifts outside the traditional 8-to-5 work day. "We haven't had the frequency of bus service to be convenient for people to make their shifts," Medeiros said.

Additional buses will help change that, he said.

Gas prices of $3.60-plus a gallon also are helping to promote mass transit. "Now people are looking at what else is there," Medeiros said.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.