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By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin
TheBus' new Transit Tubes seem to be a hit with customers.
"They're called Transit Tubes," explained TheBus' Bill Haig, manager of customer services. "They're going in at the express-bus stops, and there are 38 of them out there now in Phase One, and judging by the reaction, we'll be putting more in at other stops. We see people reading them all the time."
TheBus tried one in Waikiki last year, on Kuhio Avenue, and judged it successful enough to add more.
The point of the tubes is that a lot of information can be packed in a small space. "That much information would take up several square feet of space," pointed out Haig. People can also read it from 360 degrees and it causes less visual clutter.
Even though TheBus' logo is on it, it's not considered outdoor advertising. Each one costs $350, and they're fairly, if not completely, vandal-resistant. (The one in front of the News Building has gum on it already.) The top pops open, and new schedules (on ultra-violet-resistant ink to resist fading) are easily slid in and out.
Haig said Mayor Jeremy Harris discovered the Transit Tubes and thought they were cool enough for Honolulu. According to a Harris spokesperson, the mayor first saw them in a "bus-industry magazine."
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