A Shuttle Built for Flood Recovery Will Carry Haleiwa Through Its Busiest Winter Stretch
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
The North Shore Huakai started on June 29 as a 90-day pilot to help businesses recover from the March Kona Low storms. On September 30, Hawaii News Now reported that the Waikiki-to-Haleiwa-and-Waialua service would keep running through December. December also happens to be the month Haleiwa hosts Pipe Masters, the Christmas parade and the opening days of the Haleʻiwa International Open.
The timing matters because of another document. In April, the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority's updated North Shore plan proposed studying a park-and-ride shuttle system, and it said fiscal year 2027 would go to data collection and feasibility work, with no immediate changes on the road. A storm, a nonprofit and a tour operator have now put a working shuttle on Kamehameha Highway for the heart of contest season, well ahead of that study schedule. Whatever happens on the road between now and New Year's will be the first peak-season evidence anyone has on how car-free trips into town actually work.
The numbers behind the extension come from the organizers, Hawaiian Council and E Noa Tours. More than 4,400 riders used the shuttle during the pilot. In a voluntary survey of participating businesses, every respondent wanted the service to continue, and 82% said it had a positive effect on their business. In a separate rider survey, passengers reported spending an average of $219 per party. When it launched in June, the pilot also had the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and HTA as partners, with stops in both Waialua and Haleʻiwa.
The extended version has a few differences:
"North Shore businesses told us they want the Huakai to continue, and we're listening," Hawaiian Council CEO Kuhio Lewis said in announcing the extension.
The Huakai's results matter because the people working on North Shore traffic had already said they wanted a shuttle. Kathleen Pahinui, chair of the North Shore Neighborhood Board, told the Star-Advertiser in April that traffic remained the top concern and that she hoped HTA would use the post-storm slowdown to advance shuttle options like the Hanalei pilot on Kauaʻi. House Majority Leader Sean Quinlan had earlier secured $4.7 million for a parking hub near Haleʻiwa to support shuttle service tied to the state's Laniakea Beach bypass project. He said discussions had included requiring visitors to park at designated hubs and ride shuttles, with the revenue going back into beach erosion work and restroom upgrades.
That hub depends on a road project with a moving finish line. HDOT's December 2024 notice for the Laniakea realignment projected completion in Spring 2026. Its February 2025 notice moved that to Summer 2026 and described a new two-span bridge over Lauhulu Stream. We found no HDOT notice confirming the project is finished. HDOT posts its weekly Oʻahu roadway closure list on Fridays, so that list is the place to check before a Laniakea drive on a contest morning.
The April coverage also raised an issue the Huakai route doesn't address. Lamont Brown owns Maya's Tapas and Wine and The Fixx Haleiwa, and he described employees who lost vehicles in the March floods:
"It's hard for businesses to recover when employees can't get back to work. A shuttle wouldn't just help visitors, it would help workers and the community."
The Huakai runs from Waikiki out to the country. So the winter trial will show how visitor trips work without a rental car. Getting North Shore workers to their jobs is still a separate problem.
The shuttle drops riders into a town whose best-known shopping center has a new manager this year. The North Shore Marketplace opened in 1985 as a plantation-style village. According to KITV, developer Howard Green agreed to sell his buildings to landowner Kamehameha Schools after a ground-lease dispute. Green said the dispute would have raised his rent from $144,000 a year to nearly $1 million, an increase he would have had to pass on to roughly 25 retail tenants. Green also said Kamehameha agreed not to raise rents in the first year and to honor existing tenant leases. Kamehameha said it plans to work closely with tenants and pursue improvements to the center.
The transition already had a visible cost. Coffee Gallery closed on Saturday, January 31, after nearly four decades at the Marketplace. KHON reported that Kamehameha Schools was scheduled to take over management the next day, February 1. Kamehameha's position was that the Coffee Gallery lease decision was made by the ground lessee and that it had not been involved in tenant negotiations. We found no public report of a new tenant in Coffee Gallery's space.
Seven weeks after the management change, the March floods hit. By April 5, Brown told the Star-Advertiser that revenue at his two restaurants was down about 75% and that he was trying to keep 45 employees on payroll. The Marketplace's current merchant roster still lists The Fixx Haleiwa, along with shops such as Aloha Vintage Vibes.
The Marketplace's Great Lawn is also where the North Shore Chamber of Commerce will hold its Christmas Tree Lighting Festival on Saturday, November 28. It will be the first holiday season since Kamehameha Schools was scheduled to take over management, and the shuttle will still be running.
Every Haleʻiwa event below falls inside the Huakai's extended window except the last one, which runs past it.
The Chamber's triennial contest calendar lists different windows for the two pro events, with the Sunset Pro on November 16–25 and the Haleʻiwa Pro on November 29–December 7. We've used the World Surf League's event pages above because the league runs the contests.
As of today, the Huakai's announced service ends with December, about a week into a contest that runs until January 3. That window covers the Haleʻiwa Pro, Pipe Masters and the parade. HTA's plan calls for baseline data on North Shore traffic and parking, and the shuttle will be running through the same weeks that data is meant to describe.
The biggest date on the Waimea Bay calendar is less clear. The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational's official site still lists its 2025–2026 invitees and hasn't announced anything for the coming season. The Chamber calendar gives The Eddie a December 6 start for its one-day window but lists the end date as March 6, 2026, so the dates can't be confirmed from that page. Until the Eddie site posts a new holding period, the confirmed big contest dates on this winter's calendar are the World Surf League's.
If you're hosting family in town for Pipe Masters or the parade, the $10 Huakai from Waikiki is now a real option alongside a rental car. We're glad to help plan that kind of North Shore visit, and if a winter in Haleʻiwa has you thinking about a longer stay, Hawaii Home Group knows this stretch of Kamehameha Highway day by day. Start your Oʻahu move. Let's find your Hawaii home.
Stay up to date on the latest real estate trends.
We have 10 years of professional real estate experience. We love to help families, veterans and first time home buyers buy and sell. We both relocated to Oahu with our fur babies, to follow our dreams and live the Hawaii livestyle. Both of our families have deep roots in real estate, providing us strong real estate foundations.