Question: I live one block from a bus stop where the two airport buses, the Nos. 19 and 20, stop. You would think it would service residents who want to get to the airport without paying a lot for a taxi or shuttle. A taxi in rush hour can easily run $50, and a shuttle can be delayed. After all, we pay taxes for these buses. However, any suitcase larger than the type that will fit in an overhead airline bin are not allowed on, and you can be denied boarding with an average-size suitcase. Most modern cities on the mainland allow suitcases on their buses. 

Why has Hono­lulu lagged behind on this matter? It cannot be a safety issue if all large mainland cities allow this. I travel a lot and find this policy to be antiquated and not in line with a modern city.

Answer: Before the city’s rail transit link from Hono­­lulu Airport to Ala Moana Center is constructed, “the city is committed to permit appropriate luggage on city buses,” said Michael Formby, director of the Department of Transportation Services.

(DTS sets the policy for the city’s bus system, operated by Oahu Transit Services.)

But for now, Section 13-2.4 of the Revised Ordinances of Hono­lulu still stands, prohibiting passengers from bringing on board “any large, bulky, dangerous or offensive article that may cause harm or discomfort to any passenger. No baggage may be stored in the aisle or on the seats” of city buses.

The only baggage allowed, free of charge, is that which can be stored under a passenger’s seat or on a passenger’s lap and does not protrude into another seat or otherwise interfere with other passengers.

Formby noted that TheBus once allowed larger bags to be carried aboard “in a manner similar to many mainland cities.”

But the difference in Hono­­lulu is that the route to Wai­kiki, the primary tourist destination, meant a lot of baggage was headed to one geographical area, he said.

“This consumed a lot of space on the buses to the point where passengers were inconvenienced or unable to sit or board the bus,” he said. “It also created logistical and safety concerns with many bags being stored in the aisles.”

That led to the City Council adopting the ordinance regulating what could be taken on city buses and banning large bags.

Formby said that with the construction of Hono­lulu’s rail project, allowing “appropriate luggage” on city buses will be necessary to accommodate passengers who prefer to take advantage of the rail-bus connection from the airport to Wai­kiki.

“At that time it will also make sense to revisit the baggage ordinance and consider whether to permit luggage on all other city buses, as there will undoubtedly be local residents traveling by bus to rail stations nearer their homes and then traveling by rail to the airport (and vice versa),” he said.

NEW BUSES

Before then the city is planning a pilot project involving new circulator buses to determine the “best vehicle configuration” to accommodate passengers with luggage on the airport-Wai­kiki route, he said.

Among other things, “we are looking at luggage configurations” for the buses, he said.

The city is in the process of procuring the new buses, which will be used to circulate through Wai­kiki and to the planned Ala Moana rail station.

“We are going to get those buses before the rail project is finished so we can work on all the issues that will become a reality when rail opens, like luggage,” Formby said.

Depending on the price and how much federal funding is available, the city hopes to get about six of those new circulator buses.

The earliest the buses would be available is next year, Formby said.

MAHALO

To that wonderful someone who found my lost ticket and turned it in to the parking attendant in the 615 Pii­koi Building in May. I would have had to pay $25 for my carelessness. Thanks to you, I did not. May good fortune come your way. — A Grateful Senior

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.