Don't eliminate bus revenues

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 19, 2013

~~<p>Increasing labor and fuel costs for TheBus have forced the city to deal with more than $10 million in annual operating costs, which makes a proposal to eliminate bus fees entirely for seniors and disabled absurd. These folks already get a great deal for taking TheBus, as many of them acknowledge; being offered free rides, as proposed before the City Council, should be out of the question.</p>
<p>Adults now pay $2.50 per ride, $60 for a monthly pass and $660 for an annual pass. Seniors 65 or older and disabled passengers pay only $10 a month or $30 for a full year, including those who take TheHandi-Van. Bill 58 would eliminate those charges entirely. Turning those into freebies would eliminate $2 million in revenues, according to Nelson Koyanagi, acting director of the city Budget and Fiscal Services Department. That's revenue that the city can ill afford to lose, especially with Mayor Kirk Caldwell's promise to restore some routes soon after last year's rider outcry.</p>
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Increasing labor and fuel costs for TheBus have forced the city to deal with more than $10 million in annual operating costs, which makes a proposal to eliminate bus fees entirely for seniors and disabled absurd. These folks already get a great deal for taking TheBus, as many of them acknowledge; being offered free rides, as proposed before the City Council, should be out of the question.

Adults now pay $2.50 per ride, $60 for a monthly pass and $660 for an annual pass. Seniors 65 or older and disabled passengers pay only $10 a month or $30 for a full year, including those who take TheHandi-Van. Bill 58 would eliminate those charges entirely. Turning those into freebies would eliminate $2 million in revenues, according to Nelson Koyanagi, acting director of the city Budget and Fiscal Services Department. That's revenue that the city can ill afford to lose, especially with Mayor Kirk Caldwell's promise to restore some routes soon after last year's rider outcry. Login for more...