City seeks options to offset effects of bus strike

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Car pools, telecommuting, private tour buses, extended contraflow hours and even jitney service all could be used to offset the effects of a city bus strike set for Aug. 26, city officials said yesterday.

"Riders should start making their alternative plans right away," said city Managing Director Ben Lee. Advertiser library photo

Meeting with large employers at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall yesterday morning, city officials said carpooling remains one of the best options if city bus workers strike as planned.

"And it's not just bus riders," Lee said. "Everyone needs to know there will be more cars on the road. If we get just one more person in every car, that will help."

In addition to carpooling, officials said they are considering a wide range of options as the strike deadline nears — including approaching private tour bus and taxi companies to provide some regular public transportation.

City officials also are planning a number of traffic changes in case of a strike. They would extend normal contraflow hours on Kapi'olani Boulevard and Ward Avenue, reduce street parking, extend traffic light times and limit street construction, said Paul Won, chief of the city's Traffic Engineering Division.

Officials have asked the state to look into extending contraflow times on Kalaniana'ole Highway and the H-1 Zipper lane, he said.

Even with the changes, drivers coming to Honolulu from central O'ahu should expect to add at least 30 minutes to their commute times, Won said.

"With a little cooperation and communication, we can all get through this," said Cheryl Soon, city director of transportation services.

Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996, which represents bus employees, set an Aug. 26 strike date this month after ending talks with O'ahu Transit Services, the contractor that runs the city buses. OTS said the bus system's budget is about $4.5 million lower than last year's and that the union's demands amount to about $30 million more in costs over the life of a new three-year contract.

According to OTS, after five years of employment, bus drivers earn $21.27 per hour, or about $44,000 per year. Honolulu bus operators are paid in the top 10 percent of bus drivers nationwide, the bus company has said. The current contract provides 100 percent of the cost of medical coverage, and a pension payment of $3.19 per hour (15 percent of wage cost), or about $6,600 per year, according to OTS.

The reduction could mean the loss of 40 full-time jobs. The union says its workers will strike unless the service cuts are restored, the jobs secured and they receive other benefits they're asking for in a new contract.

The City Council's Transportation and Budget committees are holding public hearings on possible bus-fare increases that could be used to help balance the OTS budget and possibly avert a walkout.

An estimated 241,000 daily trips are made on the bus each day.

Several people in the audience yesterday said a strike could hurt Honolulu's economy. A nine-day public transit strike in Los Angeles in 1994 cost the community $18 million in wages, sales and efficiency, according to one study.

Eric Gill, financial secretary-treasurer of Local 5 of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union, said thousands of Waikiki workers will have difficulty getting to their jobs.

Even if they can arrange carpools, he said, many will not find parking because the strike is set for one of the busiest times of year, when hotel parking lots are full.

C.S. Papacostas, a civil engineering professor at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa who specializes in transportation issues, said some people probably will choose not to go to work or school in the event of a strike.

"That's what happened years ago when there was a big traffic jam on the first day back to school. A lot of people just turned around and went home," he said.

Papacostas said the problems could be complicated by the timing, with thousands of university and private school students starting the fall semester.

City officials also suggested that employers consider offering their workers alternatives, such as telecommuting, flexible work hours and a shortened work week.

"There's already not enough space to accommodate everyone who wants to drive," Papacostas said.

Hawaiian Electric Co. has begun trying to set up carpools for about 100 employees who normally come to work on bus passes paid for by the company, said spokesman Bruce Benson.

City officials said they've had preliminary discussions about using private buses, trolleys and taxi cabs as alternative forms of public transportation. One idea is to use private tour buses as shuttles along some short bus routes; another idea is to use taxis along regular routes, like the old jitneys.

Katsumi Tanaka, chairman of E Noa Tours, said one concern is that private drivers would not want to anger striking union workers.

Although several islandwide offices provide ride-sharing services, carpools often work best when organized among friends or co-workers, said Mindy Norris, manager of the Leeward O'ahu Transportation Management Association, which offers a premium express bus service and ride-sharing facilities for residents of Leeward and Central O'ahu.

"Offer free pizza, extra hours off or whatever it takes to organize a friendly carpool," said Norris, adding that available seats on LOTMA's twice-daily bus service are expected to fill up fast in the event of a strike.

"Our phones are ringing off the hook," said Vicki Harris, executive director of Vanpool Hawai'i. The program still has seats available in its 150 vans operating around O'ahu, she said.

The city also is preparing more than a dozen areas around O'ahu that could be used for carpool staging, such as parks, shopping centers and at least one church.