WAILUKU, Maui — The Maui Bus is on a roll, with monthly ridership increasing from 3,000 to 90,000 in just a year and the addition of three new, larger buses.

Maui County Transportation Director Don Medeiros said the public bus system suffered growing pains since starting in July 2006, but it has taken off with the addition of expanded and more frequent service and a more convenient transfer hub in Kahului.

"The minute we switched the service to one hour between buses and relocated the hub to Queen Ka'ahumanu Center, it started to climb," he said. "It really was a case of, 'If you build it they will come.' "

Most Maui motorists were hesitant to leave their cars at home, and there were few convenient transportation options to persuade them to do otherwise. But with traffic and the cost of car ownership increasing, public transportation has begun to make more sense.

The Maui Bus was launched a year ago and operates continuous loop routes in Wailuku and Kahului in Central Maui, a regional Kihei route and six connecting routes for Ha'iku, Upcountry, Kihei, Lahaina, Ka'anapali and Napili.

Upcountry resident Bianca Auerswald, 19, relies on the Maui Bus to get to work in Wailuku every day. "Gas is way too expensive, and I really can't afford a car and I don't have a license," she said. "It's easy, too."

The bus system also features express commuter runs from Upcountry and Central Maui to resorts in West and South Maui, with a new commuter route between Kihei and Kapalua launched this week along with additional pickup times on the Wailuku-Kapalua and Makawao-Kapalua routes.

Medeiros said approximately 200 people a day use the commuter service.

The county has been employing 25- and 14-passenger vehicles, but three new buses that were blessed yesterday can carry 41 people. The new buses, manufactured by ElDorado National-California Axess, are equipped with low-floor wheelchair access, and bicycle racks.

The new buses, purchased with $3 million from the Federal Transit Authority, will be used to expand capacity on the Upcountry and Ha'iku routes, Medeiros said.

"We're rolling. We really are taking cars off the road. The buses that are coming in now will add capacity where we're running low now," Medeiros said.

Three more of the 41-passenger buses will go into service in September, with four smaller vehicles joining the fleet early next year, he said.

Lahaina Bypass Now can take some of the credit for boosting commuter service. The community-based group, formed with the support of West Maui businesses, was created last year to help devise solutions to West Maui traffic congestion.

Lahaina Bypass Now conducted a West Maui commuter-needs survey in November that showed nearly a quarter of respondents said they would be "very likely" to ride the bus if there was more service. The group requested that money be included in the county budget to add four commuter bus routes to West Maui from Upcountry, Wailuku and Kihei.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.