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New service drives
bus $1.5 million
over budget

TheBus' ridership is up, but
Express! routes may have
come on too quickly

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By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

The city's latest changes to TheBus system have upped ridership -- but at a cost of about $1.5 million more than envisioned.

City Transportation Services Director Cheryl Soon said yesterday that boardings on all three limited-stop Express! lines have doubled since introduced as part of the Leeward Hub-and-Spoke project.

On Route A, which debuted in March 1999 and runs from Waipahu to the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus, average weekday boardings have gone to 10,000 a day from 2,000, Soon said.

The hub-and-spoke system depends on limited-stop and high-frequency runs to drive longer distances and connect with passengers transferring at "hubs" that are serviced by an array of smaller, localized "spoke" circulator routes.

Soon said enhancements are being made to Route A and Route C, the CountryExpress! route which began in May.

Costs for the extra service, however, have climbed from a budgeted $5 million to about $6.5 million, Soon told members of the Transportation Committee.

Soon was not prepared to say how the additional funding will be made up. "The administration will come forward to you and give you the information after we've reviewed it," she said.

Transportation Chairman Duke Bainum asked that the information be furnished by the committee's next meeting in November.

Councilman Steve Holmes said the added costs should be put in perspective since the entire bus system, including Handi-Van, costs $112 million annually.

James Cowen, president of Oahu Transit Services, which operates TheBus, said he is "delighted by the additional service" but believes they came on too quickly, which resulted in the need for adjustments.

Soon said the changes that have been made include additional Route 42 runs to accommodate Leeward residents who work late-night shifts in Waikiki.

More Waipahu-to-Waikiki peak-hour express runs (routes 201 and 202) have been added, while express Route 81 from Waipahu Street to downtown will now be provided midday.

The Waipahu Transit Center has been moved to Hikimoe Street from Farrington Highway primarily because of safety concerns.

Other improvements will come in December when more bus drivers finish training, Soon said.

Those include:

Extending Route C from Alapai Street to Ala Moana Center and Makaha and out to Kepuhi Point.
Increasing Route 40's run so that it will now go to 24-hour service seven days a week from five days.