The city will bump up peak-hour service for TheBus on four Oahu routes at the start of the school year to try to accommodate an expected "pulse" of extra student riders when public school classes begin July 30.
About 2,000 students statewide will no longer be offered bus service as part of a state Department of Education effort to close a $17 million shortfall in the budget for student transportation.
Wayne Yoshioka, director of the city Department of Transportation Services, said the city will increase the frequency of existing bus runs on four routes serving Kapolei, Ewa Beach, Waipahu, Pearl City and other Oahu neighborhoods.
"Hopefully, this will bridge the gap until the DOE can formulate a more permanent solution to their school bus problem," Yoshioka said in a news release Monday.
Exactly how much the city will increase service on each route isn’t yet certain because that will depend on the additional load on specific routes.
However, a review of the passenger loads for the discontinued school bus routes raised concerns that the city’s service "could very well be overwhelmed" unless something is done, Yoshioka said in an interview.
If city buses are packed because of an abrupt influx of student riders, that could force drivers to bypass stops where people are waiting because no more riders will fit. That could leave students and regular passengers stranded until another bus comes along that has room.
"We’ll be watching closely," he said. "We have some thoughts on how much we’re going to install initially, but it will really be determined by what we actually see occur out there."
"We’re looking at this as not so much a permanent change to our schedule, but what we’re doing is trying to help out," Yoshioka said. "I know the DOE is trying to work on this. … Hopefully, they can kick in later on with some of their own."
Schools Deputy Superintendent Ronn Nozoe said Monday night that the DOE "is very pleased and truly appreciates the city’s addition of services."
"We look forward to continue working with our county partners as they provide a valuable alternative means of public transportation for many of our students," Nozoe said.
The city cannot take over the school routes because Federal Transit Administration rules prohibit the city from providing bus service exclusively for students.
That’s because the city system is subsidized by federal money, and the FTA does not allow government-subsidized systems to compete with private bus companies, such as school bus vendors.
"Some areas we couldn’t do anything about because our buses don’t go near those schools, and therefore there’s nothing we can do," Yoshioka said.
Yoshioka said the city hopes to cover the cost of the extra service with savings the city has realized recently because of a drop in diesel fuel prices.
City officials also emphasized that they are continuing to modify bus service changes that went into effect June 3.
Those changes to 21 routes are being imposed in an effort to offset higher labor costs and fuel cost projections, and are necessary to avoid a fare increase, officials say.
Those reductions in service and other route modifications have prompted petition drives and other complaints among riders.
"The city will continue to monitor routes impacted by these recent changes and update them as practicable," the city news release said. "Many riders have already provided comments and as a result, certain suggestions have been incorporated. DTS continues to listen to riders and actively address issues that have been identified."
