Bus fares on a steeper route
| • | Chart: Costs elsewhere |
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
Ron Kahele figures the politicians who want to raise city bus fares need to come in for a reality check.
"Maybe we should make them get out and ride the bus before they ask us for a lot more money," said Kahele, who rides the bus from home in 'Aiea to work in Makakilo every day. "They need to come down and see what people can afford."
City officials are betting that O'ahu's 240,000 daily bus riders can absorb their second fare increase in two years.
Under a proposed budget to be voted on Wednesday by the City Council, one-way bus fares would rise from $1.50 to $1.75; a monthly pass, good for unlimited travel, would increase from $27 to $30.
Bus riders interviewed last week in Kapolei and Kailua and along King Street generally fell into two categories:
- Those who hadn't heard about the fare increase.
- Those who don't like it, but figure they can live with it.
"It's still a pretty fair price for a good service," said Ken Dougherty, a carpenter from Kailua who rides the bus once a week to attend classes in Honolulu.
Still, balancing the budget by asking riders to pay a greater share of bus operation expenses is the wrong way to go, he said.
"It was only a couple of years ago they raised the fare to $1.50," he said. "Now, they're doing it again."
Honolulu is not alone in raising bus fares. More than 90 percent of transit systems nationwide have either raised fares or cut services in the past two years, said Amy Coggin, a spokeswoman for the American Public Transportation Association in Washington, D.C.
The problems for transit companies reach into almost every community, she said. Some recent examples:
- New York City's transit agency — the nation's largest, with 7 million bus and subway riders a day — raised one-way fares from $1.50 to $2 last month. The increases are on hold, though, after a judge ruled that the agency has misled the public about its financial condition.
- Denver recently reduced service on 31 bus routes to save more than $6.5 million a year.
- San Francisco fares went up 5 percent this year, with officials blaming extra security costs and a deepening budget deficit.
"It's happening at every level of government, from the national to the state to the local level," Coggin said. "You've only got two choices: Cut service or raise fares."
In Honolulu, officials say the one-way fare increases are expected to generate about $1.4 million in extra revenue each year; the increase in monthly passes will add another $1 million to city revenue, spokeswoman Carol Costa said.
The added revenue projections do account for an expected drop in bus ridership because of the increase, Costa said. A general rule is that bus ridership initially declines about 4 percent for each 10 percent increase in fares, Coggin said.
City officials say fares in recent years have accounted for about 28 percent of the $100 million it costs to run the bus system each year.
The city last raised bus fares in 2001. Before that, the last one-way fare increase — to $1 — was in 1995. Nationwide, an average one-way bus fare is about $1.20, Coggin said.
Most bus riders here said they have little choice but to pay the extra costs.
"A lot of people don't have any choice," said Tim Teixeria, who was waiting in Kapolei for a bus home to Makakilo. "Out in the Leeward side, it's the only option."
Among many, there seemed to be a sense of grudging acceptance that the cost of a bus ride was still a good value, considering the service provided and the alternative cost of owning and parking a car.
"Everything else has gone up, so I guess this was inevitable," said Katherine Goates, who was waiting for a bus downtown Friday afternoon. "I can remember when it still costs 25 cents to circle the island, but then they've made some improvements, like air conditioning, since then so I guess it's OK."
Others were grateful that some bus fares will stay the same: $25 for a two-year pass for senior citizens and 75 cents one-way and $13.50 monthly for students.
"It won't bother me because I've got a pass," said Rob Cabral, a senior citizen who rides the bus every day from Kailua to Honolulu. "But if they did raise that cost, it would still be a good bargain.
"Besides, the way I see it, the more people who ride the bus, the less traffic there is on the road."
