With city phone lines swamped by inquiries, officials have launched a personal trip-planning service designed to make it easier for new riders to use TheBus, Mayor Mufi Hannemann said yesterday.

The service, which will provide people with specifically tailored routing information, is designed to take advantage of an upsurge in bus ridership that coincides with a sharp increase in the price of gasoline, Hannemann said.

Bus ridership is up 6 percent over the same period in September a year ago and calls to O'ahu Transit Services seeking information have increased 25 percent to almost 4,000 a day, according to Roger Morton, OTS vice president. On a few occasions in the last two weeks, ridership has topped 225,000 a day for the first time since a crippling strike and fare increase went into effect two years ago, he said.

"We're hoping that this increase will translate into a long-term surge in ridership," Morton said.

The "At Your Service" program will allow would-be riders to go on the Internet or call a new hot line with their requests about how to get from one place to another at specific times.

Within three days, customers will receive in the mail a personalized trip plan, the route maps for their starting point and destination, and other material to help them make efficient use of the bus system, Hannemann said.

If the idea proves popular, it could be expanded to provide Internet users immediate answers to online questions, Hannemann said.

While the city's 455-bus fleet has been hard-hit by rising fuel costs, the increased ridership could help generate more than $1 million in additional revenue this year, Morton said.

Hannemann said the city is also expanding its new U pass system, which entitles college students to a semester-long, discounted bus pass. The program is being enlarged to include students at four community colleges on O'ahu — Honolulu, Kapi'olani, Leeward and Windward, he said.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.