HI: Honolulu City Council postpones fare increases for public transit

A Honolulu City Council measure to increase fares for riders of TheBus, TheHandi-Van and Skyline for the first time since 2022 stalled Tuesday.

The Council’s Budget Committee voted unanimously to postpone Bill 54—a measure formally requested by the city Department of Transportation Services—citing the need to further study a measure that calls for a new fare structure for the city’s public transit system.

If Bill 54 had passed out of committee this week, it would have proceeded to the full Council for a third and final reading. If adopted, the fare changes were to take effect Jan. 1.

Previously, DTS said the proposed fare hikes are necessary due to rising operational and maintenance costs across the city’s transportation system.

As initially proposed, Bill 54 could increase the annual adult fare from $880 to $990 ; and the monthly adult fare would rise to $90, up from the current charge of $80—a 12.5 % price increase for both.

Other fare changes would include charging $45 for a seven-day pass, up from the current $35—a 28.5 % difference ; and $50 for the senior’s annual fare, up from $45, an 11 % increase.

The city’s monthly youth fare to TheBus would climb $5, or 12.5 % to $45, the bill states.

TheHandi-Van fares would go from $2.25 to $2.50 for a one-way ride—an 11 % increase.

Single fares would remain at $3, but riders who pay cash would have to pay 25 cents more.

Proposed fare hikes come as the more than $10 billion Skyline project’s Segment 2 opens to public revenue service Thursday. The new rail segment will run for 5.2 miles and offer four new stations, including one at the airport. Skyline’s third segment, to Kakaako, is expected to be completed by 2030.

The new rail also comes as Oahu Transit Services, which operates TheBus and TheHandi-Van routes for the city, is urging its 130, 000 daily riders of TheBus to consider alternative transportation plans after officials say they received inquiries about a possible strike by bus drivers.

Currently, OTS and the union have been negotiating a new contract since mid-June, but have not reached an agreement, according to an OTS news release.

During the Council Budget Committee meeting Tuesday, the five-member panel was asked to look at other amendments to a committee draft of Bill 54.

To that end, Committee Chairperson Val Okimoto highlighted possible reduced fares for “individuals with very low incomes ” versus the existing language of “extremely low income ” individuals, and increased fares for “an adult nonresident ” and “senior citizen Hawaii residents only ”

categories.

Okimoto noted another amendment requests a city ordinance be deleted in order to remove so-called personal care attendants, or PCAs, from an existing exception to paying a fare for the city bus system and the city rail.

However, that amendment would not affect free fares for PCAs utilizing paratransit travel, specifically TheHandi-Van.

In response to the new amendments, DTS Director Roger Morton showed concern for the operational and cost ramifications each might have for his department.

As far as a new fare category for nonresident adults, he noted such a category might confuse bus drivers.

“I can’t see how our bus operators will distinguish who is a resident and who is not a resident, ” Morton said. “Because the bill provides that they could pay cash fares on buses for that, and there’s just no way ” those fare payments can be monitored.

He also formally opposed DTS having to vet who was a resident and who was not a resident, calling that action “burdensome ” for his department’s overall operations.

And “if we raise the fares of nonresidents sufficiently, they will look at other alternatives, ” Morton added. “Rideshare becomes more competitive … and I think that we lose ridership, if we were to do that.”

As far as changing language from extremely low income riders to very low income, he said “our initial analysis of this is that we would increase our eligible population from about 110, 000 people to about 180, 000 people.”

“And that we would look to lose somewhere in the order of $6 (million ) to $8 million in revenue, ” Morton said, adding that this information should also be analyzed further. “Again, I think that there’s some logic to some of those things, but at a committee hearing just before third reading, it’s premature to have that type of change without having a full opportunity to have the department engage in research over what the implications of that would be.”

Members of the public also objected to Bill 54’s amendments.

Among them, Bryan Mick with the state’s Disability and Communication Access Board, said his organization was opposed to “Bill 54, all of the current versions.”

He asked that the Council amend the measure to allow for PCAs to have a fare waiver “for all modes of public transit ” and not just TheHandi-Van, as required by federal law.

“DTS has expressed concerns about potential fare fraud but has not provided data on how many PCAs ride each day, or on what their estimates of the rate of fraud are, ” Mick added. “( The Honolulu Rate Commission ) has not had a chance to discuss this yet.”

He added the change to Bill 54 would “make it more expensive for a person with a PCA to use the bus or rail in contrast to using TheHandi-Van.”

Later, Council member Esther Kia ‘aina was among those on the budget committee who said the measure still needed work.

“I think it might be helpful to postpone consideration of this measure today, until further consultation with the administration and the various stakeholders are further explored, ” she said. “Because it seems that there are provisions that have support and provisions that are quite problematic, so if you were to call a vote it would probably be a divisive vote.”

Ultimately, the budget committee deferred Bill 54 to a future date.

And although measure was supposed to begin Jan. 1, Morton said DTS could see Bill 54—and its possible new fares—enacted by the start of the next fiscal year, or July 1, 2026.

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