City will proceed with cutbacks in bus service

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

The city will proceed with plans to cut bus service Aug. 24, even though the City Council is fast-tracking a bill that would raise fares and revenue for the cash-strapped system, officials said yesterday.

"Right now I've got to keep going forward with the plans," said Department of Transportation Services Director Cheryl Soon. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

At the start of the hearing, Soon said the city would cancel the cutbacks if council members indicated they would pass the fare increases, designed to generate $6.8 million in revenue.

Instead, dozens of witnesses objected to the fare increases, and several members of the Joint Committee on Budget and Transportation suggested at least some changes to the proposal, especially increases to fares for youths and senior citizens.

Transportation Committee Chairman Nestor Garcia said after the hearing that he had scheduled an unusual, expedited second hearing for the fare increase bill Aug. 25, one day before city bus drivers and other workers have threatened to strike unless they get a new contract. The service reductions and resulting layoffs of as many as 40 full-time workers are a central issue in the contract dispute.

"These are unusual times. We need to get something done as soon as possible," Garcia said. "We've got one eye on the collective bargaining table, and we've got to come up with something." A final vote on fare increases under the accelerated schedule might come at the council's Sept. 24 meeting, he said.

Time after time, council members asked those testifying yesterday to choose between service cuts and fare increases. There was no clear trend in the answers; at least several people suggested another approach, looking for ways to save money elsewhere or raise money through other means, including advertisements on the sides of buses.

Under the proposal, the cost of a monthly bus pass would increase from $30 to $37, and the cost of youth passes, transfers and express bus services also would go up.

Senior citizens, who pay $25 for a two-year pass, would have to pay $10 per year and 25 cents per ride.

Bus drivers spoke up at the sometimes-contentious City Council hearing on proposed bus fare increases and reductions to service. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Soon said, however, that the proposal was designed to spread the increased costs to all bus riders.

"Seniors account for 18 or 19 million rides a year," she said. "If you don't address that, then the cost of a regular monthly bus pass might have to be $45 or $50 a month."

Honolulu has one of the lowest monthly pass rates of similar-size Western cities, Soon said. But the single-fare rate of $1.75, which would remain unchanged under the proposal, is among the highest in the country.

Several of those testifying said there should be no fare increases.

"Another increase in bus passes is very unfair for those who have no other way to get around," said Clifton Takamura of Mo'ili'ili.

"You're going in the wrong direction. This is going to be really hard for people living on a fixed income," added Koren Hannemann, a city bus driver for 17 years.

Others said they would support some fare increases if it meant avoiding the planned reduction of 100,000 hours of bus service. The cutbacks would reduce as many as 19 daily runs and increase wait times on most lines from one to five minutes, and more on weekends and holidays.

"If it's your only choice, I have to go with the fare increase," said Sally Tucker Martinez, another bus driver who testified at the hearing.

"I could live with a fare increase if they restore the cuts and all the extra money is specifically put toward the bus," added bus rider William Atwood.

Barbara Chun, who said she did not own a car, said she wouldn't mind a fare increase if it were spread fairly over different classes of users and if the money were to avoid a strike. "If you raise fares and can't avoid a strike, where is this money going?" she said.

Mel Kahele, head of the Teamsters Union local that represents the bus workers, said the city could find money elsewhere in the budget to avoid the cutbacks.

"I'm not for and not against the increase," he said. "I just think, before you decide, someone should ask, 'Where the heck is all this money being spent?' "

Seventy-five percent of the bus operating budget of $117 million goes to personnel costs; 11 percent goes to fuel and tire expenses; 9 percent is used for insurance; and 5 percent is spent on materials and other supplies, said Robert Yu, a financial analyst for O'ahu Transportation Services, which operates the bus under contract with the city.

Earlier in the hearing, Soon clashed with Budget Committee Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi about who was responsible for the service cuts. Kobayashi wanted to know why the city did not "budget better."

"The administration sets the tone for the city budget," she said. "How did we get to the point where we didn't budget enough money?"

Soon said the original budget for 2004 was created to meet a council-mandated rule that fares account for 27 percent to 33 percent of the total bus budget.

"If you think it was easy to cut the budget, you're wrong," Soon said. "We've spent our lives trying to build up bus services. I feel like you're blaming the victim. I had to take a budget cut, and you're blaming me as if I wanted the budget cut."

At one point the exchange became so heated that Garcia had to step in as referee. "Let's move on before we end up in the sports section," he said.

Council Chairman Gary Okino and others suggested raising some other fares so senior citizens would not have to pay so much. He and others suggested the city offer a low-cost monthly pass for seniors instead of the 25-cents-per-ride fare.

Others said the city should investigate abuses of the current transfer system before trying to institute a new transfer fee. "I see at least 20 people a day abusing the transfer system during my eight-hour shift," said Richard Costa, a bus driver for 28 years. "The company says, 'Give them the benefit of the doubt.' "

Garcia said after the hearing that the bill almost certainly would be changed before it comes up for a vote.

"It's still a work in progress," he said.

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