Posted on: Wednesday, June 23, 2004

EDITORIAL
Trolley should be kept in operation

A legal dispute over funding for the innovative Kaimuki trolley need not be the end of this popular service designed to link Waikiki with residential mauka neighborhoods.

Mayor Jeremy Harris has vetoed a council appropriation of some $240,000 to run the trolley on rather technical terms. Under a new contract with bus drivers, Harris noted, there will be no cut in bus services.

The proposal to transfer the $240,000 out of the transportation fund to the trolley would violate the agreement because it would result in a cut in services, Harris said.

The council may be able to find some support for the trolley from sources other than the transportation fund. And it might also be time for those who benefit from the trolley, including Kaimuki merchants as well as Chaminade University and the University of Hawai'i, to contribute to the effort.

The trolley has become a popular link between mauka and makai in this part of urban Honolulu. Ridership is substantial and growing.

It serves everyone's interest to keep it in operation.