Veto may end
Kaimuki trolley22,000 monthly riders and
several shops in the area
could be affected by the move
A mayoral veto of the Kaimuki trolley's city subsidy could end the service, affecting 22,000 riders monthly and levying a financial hit on several businesses.
"The businesses have come to rely on it," said Ginny Meade, executive director of the Greater East Honolulu Community Alliance. "Workers do, too, as do students."
Mayor Jeremy Harris announced plans Friday to line-item veto a proviso in the City Council-passed $1.2 billion budget that would set aside $240,000 to help run the Kaimuki trolley. He also vetoed the council's legislative budget and eight other items in the city's operating and capital budgets.
Harris has said the trolley subsidy violates contractual agreements with the city's bus service, and could not be approved by city attorneys. A Harris spokeswoman did not return phone calls yesterday for further comment.
Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi, whose district includes Kaimuki, says the council will consider overriding Harris' trolley veto.
"We're going to look at all of the vetoes. We want to choose our battles," she said. "It is my district. I certainly want it (the trolley) there."
Kobayashi also said it's "hard to justify" subsidizing a trolley in only one community.
Last year, she suggested having Kaimuki shops and restaurants pay for the service, as is done in Waikele and Hawaii Kai.
But Meade says the trolley, operated by E Noa Tours, could not run without the city's help. She also said area shops can't afford to pay for the service.
"The trolley company is already operating at a loss," said Meade, who has been a strong proponent of the service since its inception. "They've considered cutting back service because of rising fuel costs."
A one-way ride on the trolley costs $1, with special fares for seniors, students and those with city bus passes. A $25 monthly pass is also available, along with a $2 fare, which gives riders on and off privileges for one day.
The service was started in 2000, with a monthly ridership of 2,800. Over a four-year period, the number of people who ride the trolley has increased by almost eight times to 22,000 in April.
The trolley's service area has also increased.
A route introduced in 2002 as part of a push to increase ridership brought stops to Chaminade University of Honolulu and the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Frear Hall. The service now runs every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and to 10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. It has 26 stops, beginning at Royal Hawaiian Avenue and running along Kapahulu, Waialae and Kuhio avenues.
"We get a lot of Japanese clients come in through the trolley because it stops in Waikiki," said Jill Segawa, a sales associate at Prosperity Corner on Waialae Avenue. "We really cater to them."
Segawa, who is also a trolley rider, said she'd expect to see a 20 percent drop in business if the service were to be cut.
Coffee Talk, a small bistro at the intersection of Waialae and 12th avenues, would see a similar drop, said employee Cardan Tengan.
"I'm sure a lot of businesses would be affected," he said. "We noticed we do get a lot of tourists (from the trolley)."
The City Council is expected to meet late this month to consider the vetoes. The final budget is due July 1, when it goes into effect.
Meade said yesterday that she's pessimistic the trolley veto will be overturned. She's been working for more than a year to convince officials to include a subsidy in the budget.
In the past, the city Department of Transportation Services has provided the trolley's subsidy in its budget. But the department did not include money for the service in its fiscal year 2005 budget, so City Council members opted to include a proviso that would divert money to the service from elsewhere.
"I don't think it had a chance from the beginning this year," Meade said. "It was one of those issues that was meant to be decided politically."
And after all her work lobbying for the trolley, when Meade heard about the proviso's veto she said she burst into tears.