KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Bus stops, such as this one at Ala Moana Center, have notices posting the new, higher bus fares. Bus ridership has dropped by about 20 percent during the first week of the new fares, prompting the city to consider an advertising campaign.
Bus ridership
plunges 20%The city, which must raise $41 million
from bus fares to avoid a shortfall,
is looking at advertising and other
promotional activities to regain riders
City bus ridership took a 20 percent to 22 percent nose dive during the first week of new, higher fares, Mayor Jeremy Harris said yesterday.
"We're very concerned that we need to get our riders back in order to be able to maintain our budgets and, of course, to be able to continue to operate an award-winning bus system," Harris said.
This week's drop in ridership comes after the city offered five days of free bus rides last week, the first week after the month-long bus strike. The city is now looking at how to get former riders back and how to attract new riders.
"I think the free fares helped, but obviously we need to do more," Harris said. "We're looking at perhaps some additional advertising. We're trying to see if there's some other promotional activities that we can do to get riders back."
Harris said the city saved enough money by not paying striking bus workers to allow for a 8 percent to 10 percent drop in ridership.
The city has to raise a total of $41 million from bus fares this fiscal year to avoid a shortfall.
"If you lose ridership, then you drop fares, and if you drop fares, you end up with a shortfall," Harris said.
Harris said the lost revenue would have to be made up through additional revenue from somewhere else or cuts in cost.
"And obviously we're not going to be laying off anyone," he said. "We're not going to be firing anyone and so that's not an option now. We have to find other ways to reduce costs of operation."
Harris said he is not sure whether the new bus fares are playing a role in the ridership drop. "But my hunch is ... it's simply that riders found other ways to get to work and get to school during the strike."
The mayor, who drove vans during the strike to get workers and other stranded bus riders to their destinations, said some of his passengers bought used cars.
"They were in the process of buying their cars as I was taking them to work, and they quit showing up on my route every morning," he said. "So they had gotten their used car and they had gotten their insurance and they're not about to leave it in garage simply because the bus is back in operation."
City Council members are also concerned.
"It doesn't look good at all," said Council Chairman Gary Okino. "If the ridership numbers continue to be low, we're going to have to look at the gas tax. That's the only thing we're going to have left."
But the mayor said that it's still early and that ridership should rebound.
"We're only in the first week of revenue fare," he said. "The real number is where we are six months from now, and if we're back near to where we were, then we'll be within that range that we can cover with the savings. My hope is that those people who rode it before will re-evaluate their situations and come back because it's a lot cheaper to ride the bus. It's a lot more convenient to ride the bus."
Harris said the city is going to work with businesses to encourage them to promote bus use within their companies and for businesses to subsidize bus passes for their employees.
