City to give bus-pass rebates
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By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Bus riders can expect a rebate for bus passes rendered useless by the strike that has shut down O'ahu's public transit system for nearly two weeks.
But officials are still working out how the rebate will be structured and how applications for it will be handled, city spokeswoman Carol Costa said. The details will depend largely on how long the strike by more than 1,300 bus workers lasts.
Satellite city halls stopped selling monthly adult and youth passes for September because of the strike, Costa said, but two-year senior passes are still available.
Officials were not sure how many September passes had been sold before the strike, or how many August passes were sold.
But Marilyn Dicus, marketing director for the O'ahu Transit Services, said an average of 40,000 adult passes are sold every month for $30 each. About 10,000 youth passes are also sold monthly for $13.50 each, she said.
About 75 percent of O'ahu bus riders use passes, Dicus said. OTS is a private company that runs the bus system for the city.
In July, the city raised the price of adult passes to $30 from $27, and increased the cost of annual passes to $360 from $300. Tourists' four-day passes rose to $20 from $15, and single-ride adult fares went to $1.75 from $1.50.
The changes were expected to bring in $4.27 million more for the bus system's operating budget this year, but the strike has cut into that amount.
The City Council has promised to increase fares again in an effort to raise $6.8 million more and avoid service reductions and layoffs.
But council members are split over how fares should be handled, and a final proposal remains to be seen. A proposal announced Tuesday would lower the cost of single-ride fares but increase the price of monthly and annual adult passes and eliminate the use of transfers.
Single-ride fares would be lowered from $1.75 to $1 for adults and as low as 25 cents for children younger than 6.
But adult monthly passes would go up from $30 to $40, and $360 annual passes would be eliminated. Passes for disabled and elderly riders would jump the highest, from $25 for a two-year pass to $60 for one year. Youth monthly passes would rise to $20 from $13.50.
Another plan proposed this week would charge seniors and the disabled $25 a year for a pass, raise individual adult fares from $1.75 to $2 and increase youth passes to $20. However, Mayor Jeremy Harris says this proposal would fall $5 million short of balancing the budget.
The plans will be considered during a joint meeting of the City Council budget and transportation committees at 9 a.m. tomorrow at City Hall. A final vote is expected on Sept. 24.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
