BOE committee
OKs bus fare hikes

The proposal raises the cost of
riding a school bus to 50 cents

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By Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com

A school board committee has approved doubling fares and rule changes aimed at reducing a projected $3.5 million deficit in the state's school bus transportation program.

But the cost-cutting and revenue-generating measures still will not erase all the red ink, officials said yesterday.

The rule changes approved by the board's Support Services Committee include:

>> A fare hike to 50 cents one way from the current 25 cents.

>> Increasing distance eligibility requirements for Oahu secondary school students so fewer students would qualify for bus transportation. High school students living two miles or more from school and middle school students living 1 1/2 miles from school would be eligible. The current cutoff is one mile.

>> Leaving unchanged distance requirements for Oahu elementary students and all neighbor island students.

>> Disqualifying students attending charter schools, magnet schools and other programs of choice outside their school district from bus transportation.

>> A discount for prepayment of bus fares.

The program now goes to the school board for approval before heading to public hearings.

The school bus transportation program was transferred to the Department of Education last year, bringing with it a built-in deficit.

George Okano, student transportation services manager, said the program is projected to have a $3.5 million deficit during the 2002-2003 school year, when the rules are proposed to take effect.

But the fare hike and other changes would mean the deficit would shrink to less than $2.8 million.

"If there's a deficit, it needs to be made up somehow," Okano said.

Those ways could include cuts to other programs or reduction in bus services, officials said.

The only change the committee recommended yesterday was to the amount of the bus fares.

Staff recommended several months ago a fare increase to 50 cents, but some board members felt that was too steep.

Yesterday, staff approached the board with a 40-cent one-way fare, but school board members decided that was not enough to offset the deficit.

"The sooner we go with 50 cents, the sooner we minimize some of the deficit," member Shannon Ajifu said.