It’s going to Passengers of TheBus and Handi-Van will be paying more for a ride beginning July 1.
cost more to
ride TheBus
Starting July 1, adults will
have to pay $1.50 and
students 75 centsBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-BulletinThe City Council yesterday voted 8-1 to raise the single adult fare for TheBus to $1.50 from $1. Students will pay 75 cents instead of the current 50 cents.
Monthly fares for adults and students would also go up to $27 from $25 for adults, $13.50 from $12.50 for students.
The biannual pass for seniors and people with disabilities would increase to $25 from $20.
Handi-Van fares would go to $2 a trip from $1.50.
Mayor Jeremy Harris, who has opposed bus fare increases in the past, has stated he will not attempt to veto the latest plan.
Only one person testified yesterday. Oahu resident Dan Neyer said the increased fares would be detrimental to people on fixed incomes.
The city last raised fares in 1995 -- to $1 from 85 cents for a single adult fare.
Councilman Andy Mirikitani was the sole dissenting vote. TheBus and the city need to be more cost-efficient to avoid the need for fare increases, he said.
But Duke Bainum, chairman of the Council Transportation Committee, said he did not think the new fares are exorbitant and that they are necessary to ensure good bus service.
"To get an excellent system, we have to pay for it," Bainum said.
Council members pushing for the increase said passengers need to take on more of the burden for a service that is roughly 75 percent subsidized. TheBus officials estimated only about $27 million of their $112 million budget for the current year is coming from fares with the rest from various subsidies.
The new system would net about $5 million for TheBus and $400,000 for the Handi-Van.
Roger Morton, Oahu Transit Service's vice president, said the average cost for a bus ride is $1.48. The average fare, factoring in different passes,, brings in about 40 cents. He noted that senior citizens, who pay about 2 cents a ride, make up about 25 percent of ridership.
Earlier this year, the Council approved a new policy that requires fares pay between 27 percent and 33 percent of operations.
City & County of Honolulu
