Proposed cuts mean longer bus wait time

• Proposed fare increase would also affect seniors

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

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Hearings set on proposed cuts Three public hearings on proposed cutbacks in city bus service will be held next week: 7 p.m. Monday at Makiki District Park, 1527 Ke'eaumoku St. 7 p.m. Aug. 13 at Kapolei Hale, 1000 Ulu'ohia St. 7 p.m. Aug. 14 at Kailua District Park, 21 S. Kainalu Drive. Oral testimony will be limited to three minutes, and city officials will not respond to testimony or questions posed at the hearings. Written testimony can also be submitted until 4:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Department of Transportation Services, 650 S. King St., Third Floor, Honolulu, HI 96813.

In addition, the city plans to consolidate three routes into two, retiring the No. 12 Honolulu-Salt Lake route, and replacing it with expanded service on new No. 3 and No. 9 routes.

In all, the cuts will add up to an annual reduction of 80,000 hours of bus service. Combined with earlier reductions, service on bus routes will be reduced 6 percent from last year, said Cheryl Soon, director of the city's Transportation Services Department.

The proposed cuts are at the center of a looming strike by bus drivers and at the heart of a debate developing at the City Council on whether to increase fares, even though fares were raised five weeks ago.

The City Council today is expected to take up for the first time a proposal that would increase the cost of monthly bus fares. The higher fares would cover a projected $4.6 million shortfall in the bus operating budget and pay for medical premiums and other benefits union members have been asked to give back from the existing contract.

Members of the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 have set an Aug. 26 strike date unless the city comes up with more money to avoid the cuts and pay for other improvements in their contract with O'ahu Transportation Services, which runs the bus service for the city. If the cuts go through, OTS could lay off up to 40 full-time workers.

"This is one of the hardest things we've had to do in several years," Soon told members of the City Council Transportation Committee in explaining the cuts last week. "Not one single person involved wants to be in this position, but it's a reality of the budget situation."

The reductions will bring total service hours down to 2000 levels, she said.

The city posted details of the new cutbacks on a Department of Transportation Services Web site last month and plans to hold public hearings on the changes in three locations next week.

Soon said the proposed cuts were designed to ensure that reductions were spread evenly across the system and especially did not hurt low-income areas more than others.

The reductions are the smallest on the city's busiest routes, including the No. 1 Kaimuki-Kalihi, No. 2 School Street and the CityExpress. On the No. 1 route, for instance, the time between buses was increased from eight minutes to nine minutes, causing the loss of one run during the course of a full day.

On many of the longer runs, such as those between Honolulu and outlying areas, the time between buses will increase at least five minutes during weekdays and longer on weekends.

In the most severe cases, such as for the No. 53 Honolulu-Pacific Palisades and No. 54 Honolulu-Pearl City routes, the time between weekday buses will be increased from 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

The bigger changes were designed to target the least used routes, Soon said.

DTS also conducted an analysis required by federal regulation to ensure the service changes are distributed equally and don't discriminate against poorer neighborhoods.

The analysis showed that the number of lost transit miles and opportunities to board the bus in the lower-income areas would be slightly less than in other areas, according to the DTS Web site.

The city's first round of cuts in July, which mostly targeted express bus service, touched off complaints from riders across the island, and officials are expecting to get another earful as word of the new cuts spreads.

"We're not going to put up with these cuts," said Bill Atwood, a regular bus rider who is organizing a campaign that he hopes will result in 20,000 phones calls to the mayor and City Council offices in the next few weeks.

"We're trying to contact Neighborhood Boards and get the word to all people who ride the buses. I've lived through bus and transit strikes elsewhere, and they're a nightmare. A lot of people aren't going to get to work at all if there's a strike."

Atwood said he places the blame for the cuts on Mayor Jeremy Harris for not providing enough money for full bus service in the budget he sent to the City Council last year.

"The shortfall came directly from the mayor's budget," he said. "He needs to put the money back now."

The best hope for averting the cuts comes from raising revenue through another fare increase, city officials said.

"Bus riders pay less than 30 percent of the cost to run the bus. The rest of the cost is subsidized by the taxpayers of this city," Harris said.

"If we are going to avoid a reduction in bus service, then bus riders will need to pay about 3 percent more of the cost. If bus riders will pay for about one-third of the cost to operate TheBus, there will be no need for reduction in bus services."

In recent years, fares accounted for between 25 percent and 27 percent of the bus operating budget.

Even if the City Council goes along with a proposed fare increase, it may not be enough to avert the bus strike set for Aug. 26. The City Council needs at least three months to change legislation, meaning fares could not increase until at least October.

What's more, the money generated by a fare increase probably would be just enough to avoid the proposed cuts. Other contract improvements still being sought by the bus workers would require another $27 million more in revenue, said Perry Confalone, chief negotiator for OTS.

On the Web: For a complete list of specific service reductions, see www.co.honolulu.hi.us/dts/august_service_redux_mods.htm

Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Proposed fare increase would also affect seniors

Monthly pass holders, senior citizens, children between 6 and 17, express riders and those who transfer would have to pay more under a proposed city bus fare increase that the City Council will consider today.

Fares for children under 5, single-fare passengers, people with disabilities and Medicare cardholders would remain unchanged under the proposal, which is designed to raise enough money to maintain bus service levels.

The increases would touch a large number of users.

The fare increase bill proposes raising regular monthly bus passes to $37, up from $30. Monthly pass holders make up nearly 60 percent of the bus system's riders.

Although single-fare rides would remain at $1.75, riders on express bus services would pay a 25-cent premium. Transfers, which are now free, would cost 25 cents.

The most controversial part of the new proposal may be charging senior citizens 25 cents every time they ride the bus.

Under the current system, senior citizens receive unlimited rides after they pay $25 for a two-year pass. That pass would be replaced by an annual $10 administrative charge and the 25 cents-per-ride charge.

Children between 6 and 17 also would have to pay more. Under the proposal, a one-way trip would cost 85 cents, a 10-cent increase. Monthly bus passes for youths would increase from $13.50 to $18.50.

"The bill is a starting point for debate," said Council Chairman Gary Okino. "I'm sure it won't end up this way in its final form."

If approved, the fare increases would raise $6 million annually, enough to keep service at current levels and prevent the need for benefit reductions in the contract with union bus workers, Okino said.

The proposal was developed by the city administration and will be referred to the council's budget and transportation committees for discussion and public hearings, Okino said.