City riding strike
for savings against
transport alternativesNot having to pay bus
workers saves the city $250,000
each day of the strike
The thousands of dollars it has cost the city to shuttle commuters each day of the bus strike has been far surpassed by the money saved by not paying striking workers, city officials say.
"I think it was very, very much well worth the cost and the effort to provide the service to our residents," city Managing Director Ben Lee said yesterday.
"We've touched a lot of people and provided some convenience. It didn't replace the bus by any means, but for those that we provided service to, I think they're very grateful that the city did this," he said.
The city saves $250,000 each day of the strike. That is based on the $117 million bus operating budget broken down to a daily rate, minus fixed costs, such as insurance and utilities, that have to be paid, strike or no strike.
Although the city bus system is operated by private company Oahu Transit Services Inc., it is the city that keeps any savings because it only pays the company based on the number of hours that buses are in operation, Lee said.
"The city realizes the savings as OTS is funded based on the number of (bus) service hours that (the city transportation department) directs them to operate," Lee said. "If additional service hours are operated during the year, the savings would be applied against those hours."
The savings are also being applied toward paying for the city's strike-alternative transportation, which includes renting vans and school buses.
The 15 school buses, contracted by the city for afternoon express runs, cost more than $3,000 a day.
Lee said that the city was able to quickly contract for school buses because the strike is an emergency situation.
"The city used authorized emergency purchase order procurement procedures," Lee said.
Bus services are purchased day to day and can be canceled at any time, he said.
For the van service, the city is using 21 city-owned vans and 28 rented vans. The cost of the vans runs from $230 to $350 a week, depending on the size of the van and the rental company.
"Believe it or not, I think people like our vans," Lee said. "It's a new van. It's comfortable. It's air-conditioned. It's quiet. Some of them have said, 'You're faster than the bus.'"
Lee said there is no tally of how much the city is spending for these services because the operation is ongoing. He also said there are no figures available for fuel costs and personnel costs including any overtime for any city employees who drive the commuter vans. But he said each department will absorb any overtime time costs associated with the van service.
"I think people very much appreciate it. We want to do whatever we can. It doesn't replace the bus by any means, but it still helps out a lot of people," Lee said.
