With gas prices pushing toward the $5-per-gallon threshold, it's easy to see why more O'ahu commuters are finding it cheaper to peel $2 in bus fare out of their wallets. And the savings margin grows even wider if the rider invests in a $40 monthly bus pass.

TheBus officials are reporting figures from June showing the number of people hopping on city buses this summer is up by 5 percent over last year.

Cash receipts are down, they said, probably because of the tourism slowdown: Visitors usually account for half the bus riders paying cash.

This means that many of the people keeping ridership high are buying bus passes: More local folks are making TheBus a regular transit option.

And it suggests that the city needs to make the system as easy to use for the newly initiated as it is for veteran riders.

Oahu Transit Services, the contractor that operates the bus system for the city, should do more public education. A University of Hawai'i survey conducted last spring for the state Department of Transportation and Federal Highways Administration showed a large percentage of respondents were unfamiliar with basic aspects of bus service.

To its credit, OTS has collaborated with the Web portal Google and now offers an online trip planner. Linked from its own site (thebus.org), the planner dispenses useful advice and is being refined to show riders more of the route options open to them.

But simple improvements, such as markers showing which buses stop where, are also needed. A planned city pilot project to install new signs that also display routes, is a good start; all bus stops could use better signage.

Finally, the city needs to deliver the promised electronic signs at select bus stops, displaying alerts of bus arrival times. Bidding has taken longer than expected and now needs to stay on track.

Clearly buses will be bearing a larger share of the transit burden in a challenging economy. Making the transition as easy as possible for riders needs to be part of the service.