Hawaii visitors tend to be priced out or unfortunate on car rental services. However, they can get about the islands through Holoholo, a locally-owned and new ride-hailing application.
Launched earlier this year, Holoholo works in an identical way to Lyft and Uber’s applications. Using it requires installing the application on your mobile device, registering there, requesting a new ride and paying through the application. People in Hawaii can also check the pricing and then book rides through Holoholo.
The tourism industry of Hawaii has been on the rise over the past few months. So, the industry is on the verge of getting back to a state of being absolutely normal. It is expected that pre-travel tests would not be needed in July this year or August. On the other hand, Hawaii lifted its interisland travel restrictions in the recent past.
That said, the island has had its fair share of growing pains too. After a restrictive and almost tourism-free year, Hawaii sometimes had difficulty in keeping pace with demand, especially in the transportation industry.
Rental car choices have been in short supply since the industry offloaded many of those to the US mainland in a public health emergency. That has contributed to a scarcity of those cars as well as surge pricing. More people rely on ride-share solutions to get about, so Lyft and Uber’s driver shortages and long waiting periods have frustrated travelers.
Holoholo, which means ‘Let us go’, expects to introduce one more option for natives and Hawaii visitors, thus helping them out. As with the two other ride-share services, it provides numerous options when people book rides, including the following.
- Holoholo Assist for people with special needs
- Holoholo Economy
- Holoholo Luxury
- Holoholo Green with EVs
- Holoholo Military for those seeking access to military base
Holoholo’s creator Cecil Morton said that it would be a more affordable service than its nationwide rivals. Nevertheless, Morton’s claim should be compared with regards to situational factors, including driver availability, demand and time. That is to say, it has not always been less costly than the competition. For instance, a recent ride’s price from the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to the Kapahulu neighborhood was shown as $25 on Uber but $43 on Holoholo.
Nonetheless, Holoholo is a welcome addition to Hawaii’s shared mobility industry. It adds an alternative to the island’s shared mobility industry, which is suddenly getting more intense regarding competitiveness. It now operates on every island except for Molokai.
