Honolulu riders are saying aloha to a longtime commute companion. The homegrown DaBus2 app is being retired, and the city is asking everyone to switch over to the Transit app instead. DaBus2 is scheduled to be removed from Google Play and Apple’s iOS App Store on April 15, 2026, and riders are being urged to download Transit well before that deadline. The goal is to give TheBus, the Skyline rail and the Biki bike-share system a single, unified wayfinding tool, even if many regulars say it is going to take some getting used to.
What the city announced
The City and County of Honolulu confirmed this week that it will retire DaBus2 and have riders migrate to the Transit app, as reported by KHON2. The city’s Department of Transportation Services explained on LinkedIn that Transit offers real-time trip planning, bus and rail tracking, service alerts and multimodal routing that ties together TheBus, Skyline and Biki. As part of the partnership, Honolulu riders will also get free access to Transit Royale. Officials are asking riders to download Transit now and save their favorite routes ahead of DaBus2’s retirement.
Why officials say they are making the switch
“The retirement of DaBus 2 marks the end of an era for Oʻahu transit riders, but it paves the way for a more unified digital multimodal experience between TheBus, Skyline and Biki,” Deputy DTS Director Jon Nouchi said in a statement to KHON2. DTS officials say putting everything into one app is supposed to help riders plan complete, end-to-end trips as Skyline expands and bus routes are adjusted around the rail line.
What the Transit app does
According to Spectrum News, the Transit app shows crowdsourced, real-time locations for TheBus and Skyline, lets users plan trips that include Biki and rideshare legs, sends instant service alerts and provides offline schedules. The city’s LinkedIn post notes that the redesign highlights clearer ETA cards, crowding information and accessibility details to make on-the-go decisions easier for riders.
Rider confusion and missing features
Some longtime DaBus users told the city they felt the transition notice landed without much lead time, and a Reddit thread shows riders worrying about losing features like single-stop bookmarks and quick stop-number lookups, while others pointed out that Transit brings broader trip-planning tools, per Reddit. The DaBus2 App Store listing now includes an “app transition” message in the version history and credits the City and County of Honolulu as the developer, which suggests the shift is being pushed from inside the app itself. The listing also notes a major DaBus2 update dating back to 2016.
How to switch
Riders can download Transit at Transit and start rebuilding their favorites, subscribing to routes and setting alerts before the April 15 changeover. For schedules, offline timetables and official customer contacts, TheBus keeps current route details and rider resources available during the transition.
For now, DaBus2 is expected to remain usable until April 15, 2026, but the city is encouraging everyone to get comfortable with Transit ahead of that date to avoid any last-minute disruption. We will update readers if the city releases more specifics or a formal phased shutdown timeline.
