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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, August 9, 2007

Traffic's about to get a lot heavier

StoryChat: Comment on this story

By Loren Moreno
Advertiser Staff Writer

TRANSIT ALTERNATIVES

  • TheBus, call 848-4500 or visit www.thebus.org.

  • Vanpool Hawaii, offers vehicles to groups of four or more for shared commutes. Costs start at $55 a person a month. Vanpoolers share the cost of fuel and parking. Call 596-VANS (8267) or visit www.vanpoolhawaii.com.

  • Leeward Oahu Transportation Management Association, organizes car pools for Central and Leeward O'ahu residents interested in car pooling or taking private buses into Downtown and Waikiki. Call 677-RIDE (7433) or visit www.lotma.org.

  • For more information about finding a car pool in your area, contact the state Department of Transportation's Ride Share coordinator at 692-7695.

    Source: state Department of Transportation

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    BACK-TO-SCHOOL DATES

    Today: Mid-Pacific Institute (1,480 students)

    Tomorrow: Kamehameha Schools (3,500 students)

    Aug. 20: University of Hawai'i, including UH-Manoa, UH-West O'ahu, Honolulu Community College, Kapi'olani Community College, Leeward Community College, Windward Community College (40,050 students)

    Aug. 22: 'Iolani School, Maryknoll School (3,275 students)

    Aug. 23: Punahou School (3,700 students)

    Aug. 27: Chaminade University (1,100 students)

    Sept. 4: Hawai'i Pacific University (5,000 students)

    Total: 58,105 students

    Source: state Department of Transportation

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    More than 58,000 college and private school students will be going back to class starting today — with the largest group hitting the streets on Aug. 20 — and officials are urging motorists to car pool, walk, even change their schedules to avoid the annual back-to-school traffic jam.

    "Certainly, it's a time to consider what each and every one of us can do to help mitigate the traffic situation that is upon us," Barry Fukunaga, director of the state Department of Transportation, said yesterday at a news conference.

    Radio advertisements are set to begin airing next week to remind drivers about the approaching rush, he said. The Department of Transportation also will postpone roadwork and lane closures during daylight in busy areas from Aug. 20 to Sept. 3.

    Fukunaga also highlighted the need to maintain vehicles to avoid breakdowns on the freeway, and the importance of ride-sharing.

    "Make sure your vehicles are properly maintained and serviced. What we find is that for every minute a vehicle is delayed on our roadway, it has a 10-minute impact on those behind the vehicle," he said.

    He also urged commuters to consider creating car pools with co-workers or using car-pooling services, such as Vanpool Hawaii.

    The back-to-school rush will culminate when more than 40,000 University of Hawai'i students from six campuses, including the university's flagship Manoa campus, return to school on Aug. 20.

    Including private school students, who start heading back this week, and students from other local colleges, the number of people hitting the books — and the roads — after summer break is more than 58,000.

    U-PASS AN OPTION

    Officials yesterday highlighted some of the options for keeping cars off the roads.

    For example, university and college students are eligible for a special bus pass, called the U-Pass, said Roger Morton, general manager of Oahu Transit Services. The pass costs $100 a semester, a savings over the regular $40 monthly fee for a general pass, he said. The U-Pass is available on college campuses.

    In its past three years, the U-Pass has been successful in getting more college students to use the bus and perhaps keep their cars at home, Morton said.

    Last year, an average of 7,000 students a day rode the bus using the U-Pass, Morton said. That number was significantly higher than the 4,000 college students a day who took advantage of the U-Pass a year before, he said.

    "We're hoping the number will rise to 8,000 to 10,000 students a day," he said.

    Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.