Repeal tip fee discount to help fund reliable city bus service

By Ernest Martin and Ann Kobayashi

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 11, 2012

~~<p>Elected officials are charged with many responsibilities, but the most difficult, by far, are the decisions that need to be made to ensure fair and efficient distribution of city resources. The fundamental responsibility to balance revenue and expenditures sometimes requires tough decisions that generate public opposition.</p>
<p>While the City Council has had to take its fair share of criticism for such decisions, the ongoing protest against the reduction of city bus service is not one of them. Mayor Peter Carlisle had legitimate concerns about the current and future stability of our public transportation system, but it is unlikely that he anticipated the level of distress caused by the schedule changes in dozens of routes affecting a significant number of the 220,000 daily bus riders.</p>
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Elected officials are charged with many responsibilities, but the most difficult, by far, are the decisions that need to be made to ensure fair and efficient distribution of city resources. The fundamental responsibility to balance revenue and expenditures sometimes requires tough decisions that generate public opposition.

While the City Council has had to take its fair share of criticism for such decisions, the ongoing protest against the reduction of city bus service is not one of them. Mayor Peter Carlisle had legitimate concerns about the current and future stability of our public transportation system, but it is unlikely that he anticipated the level of distress caused by the schedule changes in dozens of routes affecting a significant number of the 220,000 daily bus riders. Login for more...