Tow company fights free services on H-1
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer
The state's $3 million freeway service patrol, a keystone in efforts to reduce congestion on O'ahu's roads, is being delayed again by a protest from a towing company that says it would lose business.
The state Transportation Department had hoped to begin offering free towing and other assistance to stranded H-1 motorists by October, but the protest puts the start of the service on hold indefinitely, DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.
Stoneridge Recoveries, a towing company, complained that the state's new patrols would duplicate services it already provides under a city contract and would cause it to lose up to 80 percent of its business.
Under a five-year contract signed in 2002, the company pays the city $8,900 per month to provide Honolulu police with exclusive towing services from 'Aiea to Waipahu, including freeways, and recovers its expenses by charging motorists for the service.
Transportation planners have said that providing free assistance, including towing, to stranded motorists would be one of the best ways to ease congestion on roadways.
The idea, officials said, was to get stranded cars off the highway as quickly as possible, relieving backups. Traffic engineers say that each minute a car remains stalled on the highway results in up to 10 minutes of delays for those stuck behind it.
"We're not saying it's a bad idea, but the state should have looked at everything more closely before proceeding," said Mark Kawata, an attorney representing Stoneridge.
Although the new service would be provided by the state using federal money, it's being done with the blessing and coordination of city officials, who seemed unconcerned about Stoneridge's potential losses, Kawata said.
"Their attitude seemed to be, 'Tough luck,' " he said.
Rather than face a lengthy court battle over the bid proposal, state officials might consider amending it to offer some level of free assistance that doesn't compete with Stoneridge's city towing contract, Kawata said.
The state's bid proposal earlier this year would require the contract winner to provide basic services to stranded motorists, such as fixing a flat tire, taping a radiator hose or providing gasoline.
In addition, the contract called for the towing of disabled vehicles, removal of roadway debris, basic fire extinguisher use, helping police, fire and medical officials at crash scenes, assisting sick or injured motorists with basic first aid and notifying local emergency agencies of incidents.
The initial service would cover H-1 and Moanalua Freeways from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. If a two-year demonstration project proves successful, the state DOT hopes to expand the service to the H-2 and H-3 freeways.
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
