Cuts in bus service put on hold to buy time
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By Dan Nakaso and Gordon Pang
Advertiser Staff Writers
Bus service cuts that were to go into effect Sunday have been postponed for 30 days to give the City Council time to come up with a fare package that could avert a citywide bus strike.
The planned service cuts are a key sticking point in contract talks between O'ahu Transit Services and the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996, which represents the city's 1,300 bus workers. The cuts amount to 100,000 service hours per year, or about 6 percent of TheBus operations.
Teamsters leaders last night were preparing what they called their "last and final offer" to OTS. Union president Mel Kahele said they have lowered their proposal for 10 percent annual raises for each of three years to 2 percent to 3 percent per year. The effect of the proposal would increase employee salaries by 40 cents to 60 cents an hour, he said.
Union leaders also modified their last pension proposal, although Kahele declined to specify how. He said he believed union members would be happy with the newest proposals.
All of the movement yesterday eased tensions on what had been tense contract talks.
"We believe if everyone works together we can avoid disruption to our city bus service," Harris said.
Kahele said last night that he was happy with the decision to postpone planned service cuts. But it was only one of the issues making union members unhappy, Kahele said.
"We're real pleased with the mayor restoring the service hours," Kahele said. "But the extension is not enough to prevent a strike."
Harris said he wanted to give the City Council time to pass a fare package that would bring in $6.8 million in new revenue to avoid cuts. At the same time, he warned that if fares are not increased within 30 days the cuts in bus service may be even deeper.
The union and OTS sides are negotiating a new three-year contract, and the union has set a Tuesday strike date. Talks are set to resume Monday.
Council Transportation Chairman Nestor Garcia said he was happy with the mayor's 30-day reprieve, but said it's uncertain if that will be enough time for the council to reach a compromise on a bill that would be able to generate enough revenue to avert layoffs.
Council members today are expected to release their latest version of Bill 53, a plan conceived by the Harris administration that would generate an additional $6.8 million, enough to restore some 80,000 hours of bus service and negate the need to lay off up to 40 drivers.
Initially the service cuts included laying off 40 drivers. In negotiations last week, however, OTS promised that "operator layoffs are no longer under consideration for the immediate future."
The union rejected the company proposal, saying it didn't provide a "time frame" for ensuring a no-layoff period.
To help ease traffic congestion in the event of a strike, the state Department of Transportation announced last night it will make two changes to the H-1 Freeway zipper lane, which runs from Waikele to the Ke'ehi Interchange. The zipper lane, which normally shuts down at 8:30 a.m., will be kept open until 9:15 a.m. for vehicles with two more passengers. Normally, at least three occupants per vehicle are required from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., and two occupants from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
The high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes along H-1, H-2 and Moanalua freeways, and Kalanianaole Highway will be open to all vehicles during a strike, regardless of the number of occupants, the state said. The current requirement is two people per vehicle.
The changes will occur only in the event of a strike.
