The program, called BusLink, will mark the first time smart-card technology is used on a bus-only mass transit system in America, said Clyde Earl, chief of public transit for the city's Department of Transportation Services.

When in full use, the card system could speed service, provide planners with new transit data, and keep many of Honolulu's 208,000 daily riders from fumbling for cash as they board the bus, said Bob Fishman, deputy director of DTS.

Under the new system, which is being phased in, riders will be able to buy customized cards with an embedded microchip at existing bus pass outlets and use them like a security pass card or like a debit card each time they board the bus.

For the more than 38,000 adult monthly pass holders, the card's embedded microchip will be coded for an unlimited number of rides until the last day of each month.

Occasional riders will be able to buy the cards for a predetermined amount of money. An on-board bus card reader then will automatically deduct the correct amount for each ride until the card is empty and needs to be refilled.

The personalized cards will be coded to identify their users as adults, senior citizens, students or other types of riders allowing for deductions of varying amounts, Fishman said.

Current adult monthly bus passes cost $40. A one-way cash fare, including a transfer, is $2.

One of the biggest advantages of the new system, Fishman said, will be that lost cards can be replaced at a minimal cost, unlike the current paper bus passes.

"We'll have all the information in a computer so that we can instantly issue a new card with the correct amount of money or time on it," Fishman said.

"That would be really helpful," Kim said.

Nearly all of the city's 525 buses have been equipped with the card readers, he said.

The system was field-tested this past summer on one line, and was expanded in November to include about 1,700 people islandwide who buy bus passes through payroll deductions at their workplace.

"We wanted to start slowly so that we can work all the bugs out before it's in wide use," Fishman said.

The next step, probably in late spring, is to make the cards available to all riders who buy a monthly pass.

The final part of the program will expand the service to riders who still use cash to board the bus. Ultimately, the city hopes to have the cards available for purchase in satellite city halls, at convenience and grocery stores, through credit card transactions and from automated machines located near key transit points, like Ala Moana Center or Fort Street Mall, Fishman said.

Each use of a BusLink card will be recorded in an on-board computer and later fed into a database. That will help transit planners identify the most used boarding locations and adjust schedules and routes accordingly, Earl said.

However, transit officials do not plan to compile personal information about a card holder's transit use, even though it's theoretically possible with the technology.

"We'll only use it to gather demographic data and adjust the system appropriately," he said.

Similar card systems are in wide use in many rail transit systems or rail and bus authorities in the country, but have never been tried before on a bus-only transit system like Honolulu's, Fishman said.

Eventually, the card technology could be expanded to replace other cash uses, such as paying at city parking garages or parking meters, he said.