Initial bus
ridership off 25%Despite free fares, buses
transport about 59,000 fewer
riders on the first day of service
Ridership dropped more than 25 percent on the first day city buses resumed service after a monthlong Teamsters strike, according to Oahu Transit Services Inc.
OTS spokesman Ken Stanley said about 160,000 passengers rode city buses on Monday, down from 219,000 passengers a year earlier and 211,000 passengers in 2001.
"It's about 27 percent lower than what we expected in a day in September," said Stanley. "It will certainly affect the amount of revenue that the city gets."
A total of 399 city buses returned to all routes Monday after workers returned to the job for the first time since Aug. 26. The strike ended Saturday when members of Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 voted to ratify a five-year contract with OTS, the company that runs buses for the city.
The city is offering free bus rides through Friday to rebuild ridership before higher fares take effect on Monday.
In addition, city officials said express bus services that were cut in June will be restored on Oct. 14, since the City Council voted to increase bus fares to offset a $6 million shortfall in the operating budget.
Seventeen express bus routes that ran in the morning and afternoon had one bus cut from each route, city Transportation Director Cheryl Soon said.
The city also announced yesterday procedures concerning bus passes for senior citizens and disabled passengers:
>> New senior citizen and disabled passes and identification cards will contain a photo of the purchaser. The first processing center will open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday next week in the Hawaii suite at the Neal Blaisdell Center. State transportation officials will be available at the center to sell senior annual passes for $30 each.For more information, call 527-5890 or visit the city's Web site at www.co.honolulu.hi.us/dts.>> Starting Monday, seniors may purchase a senior identification card for $10. The card allows seniors to pay a reduced rate of $1 a ride or use a $5 reduced monthly pass/sticker, which is placed on the back of the card. In lieu of the identification card, seniors and disabled passengers may use their current annual pass as identification until the date of its expiration.
>> Senior biannual passes that expired in September will be honored until Nov. 1.
>> Seniors with a valid two-year pass may use it until Nov. 1 to give them an opportunity to choose which new pass they prefer. Seniors who do not purchase one of the offered passes will be charged $2 for each bus ride.
>> Passengers with valid disabled passes do not have to resubmit medical verification of their disability.
>> Biannual passes will be refunded on a pro-rata basis based on the value of the time remaining. Refund application forms are available at all satellite city halls. Completed forms should be returned by mail to the state Department of Transportation Services at 650 King St., 3rd floor, Honolulu, HI, 96813.
