City sets up
carpools,
shuttle serviceTaxis will cover
certain bus routes
in case of a strike
If there is a bus strike Tuesday, city officials hope drivers will reach out and give co-workers, friends, family and even strangers a ride.
As an alternative to the bus, the city is setting up an informal carpool system at locations from Waianae to Hawaii Kai, where commuters and drivers with extra passenger space are being encouraged to meet and share rides into downtown, Waikiki and the University of Hawaii during morning and afternoon commute hours.
The city will also operate free shuttle vans from seven locations from Waianae to Kaneohe during the morning and afternoon commutes. The vans will pick up passengers with reservations in the morning and take them downtown, where another shuttle will be available to Waikiki. To reserve a space, call 523-4381.
Additional parking lots will also be opened on the UH campus and around Waikiki, Manoa, Kakaako and downtown.
Also, 50 to 100 taxicabs will be driving along eight bus routes, picking up passengers and dropping them off along the routes at a cost of $3 a ride, said Cheryl Soon, head of the city Department of Transportation.
"This is not a panacea," cautioned city Managing Director Ben Lee as he and other officials outlined the city's bus strike contingency plan to businesses yesterday morning.
Mayor Jeremy Harris said he hoped "cooler heads prevail" and there is no strike, but that each business needs to take responsibility for its employees.
The mayor and other city officials encouraged companies to survey workers, organize carpools and provide flexible working hours to lessen the traffic and parking problems expected if the bus workers strike.
The solution, Lee said, is to "carpool, carpool and carpool."
Ed Saunders, of the HTH Corp., which runs the Pagoda and Pacific Beach hotels, said managers have been arranging rides and carpools for the company's 750 employees.
He said tourists who stay at the hotel should not be affected by a bus strike, except that there may not be as many cabs in Waikiki.
The state Department of Education is leaving it to individual public schools to handle their own transportation needs during a strike.
At Kawananakoa Middle School, Principal Sandy Ishihara-Shibata said allowances will likely be made for tardy students on Tuesday, but so far she has not had many calls from parents worried about getting their children to class.
At Vanpool Hawaii, Executive Director Vicki Harris said they have fielded 100 to 120 calls a day this week because of the strike threat.
Six new vanpools have been created, and she was able to add riders to fill vacancies in other vanpools. Now the need is for more drivers.
"We're trying to help everyone, and that's not necessarily the easiest thing to do," Harris said. "We don't have vanpools going everywhere people want to go."
Some bus riders are making their own plans.
Lee Dao, who commutes to work downtown from Ala Moana, said if there is a strike, he will drive to work.
"We have a car," Dao said. "It's just the parking is too expensive."
Lee Ann Houde, who lives on School Street, said she will walk her 7-year-old daughter to the Voyager School in Kakaako and then walk to work downtown if there is a strike.
"I'm going to get a lot of exercise," she said.
Places ride-sharers can meet
Drivers with extra seats and people who need rides to work or the University of Hawaii are encouraged to meet at various locations around Oahu on Tuesday morning. City employees will try to match people up with rides during the morning commute and again in the afternoon. City Transportation Director Cheryl Soon said the plan is still being worked on and locations may change, but people seeking to carpool should be able to go to:
>> Kailua District ParkPeople needing rides back to drop-off points in the afternoon should go to:
>> Kapolei Hale
>> Pearl City Youth Center in Manana
>> Pokai Bay
>> Wahiawa Botanical Gardens
>> City Square in Kalihi
>> Hawaii Kai Park and Ride
>> Kaneohe District Park Gym
>> Mililani Park and Ride
>> Kunia Park and Ride
>> Waipahu Gym
>> Niu Valley Shopping Center
>> Sinclair Circle
>> Hotel Street
>> Sinclair Circle (UH-Manoa)
>> Hale Koa Hotel parking lot
