School bus fare increase goes into effect next week

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer

Students who take a school bus to school will have to pay an extra dime starting this month, when a long-planned fare increase to 35 cents a ride finally takes effect.

Students on year-round school calendars will pay the new fares as early as next week, while students on traditional school calendars will pay the higher rates starting Jan. 20. On Maui County, which provides a 10-cent subsidy on student fares, students now will pay 25 cents a ride.

The state Board of Education approved the fare increase in November 2002 to help close a $4 million budget shortfall in student transportation, but the increase was delayed over confusion about when Gov. Linda Lingle signed off on the new fares.

Lingle approved the increase last March, but paperwork delays between the administration and the DOE prevented the new fares from being collected when the school year began in the fall.

Cynthia Kawachi, the DOE's acting student transportation services manager, said an estimated 25,000 students ride school buses to school each day. Students whose family income is below the federal poverty level ride for free.

Students who have pre-paid school bus passes will not have to pay the new fares until the next quarter, Kawachi said.

Student fares cover only a fraction of the cost of operating the buses. The DOE estimates that each ride costs the state $1.25, or $2.50 a day. Labor and fuel costs have pushed up expenses.

Originally, the BOE proposed doubling the fares to 50 cents, but backed down after opposition from people who argued that the increase would be a burden on many parents.

Students are eligible for discounted fares on TheBus. Students pay $1 for each ride — half the $2 adult fare — and can purchase a monthly pass for $20, half the $40 adult rate.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.