Council panel OKs resolution asking city to undo bus cuts

The City Council Budget Committee on Wednesday approved a resolution asking the city administration to restore recent cuts made to TheBus services.

The five-member committee’s action sends the resolution for a vote by the full Council on Aug. 15.

City transportation officials began the first phase of reduced bus services on June 3, with the idea of eventually achieving a savings of $6 million to $7 million annually.

Mayor Peter Carlisle, in responding to the resolution, said his administration has made a number of adjustments after receiving riders’ comments and is committed to operating the buses without raising fares, despite increases in labor and fuel costs.

"We will also continue to work with the City Council on this issue," he said.

Some City Council members said they think the administration has the money to restore the bus services but chooses to use it in other ways.

Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi, interviewed after the meeting, said the city administration has spent several million dollars to hire people temporarily for unbudgeted positions with department savings.

"We’ve never seen so many," she said. "We’re saying if they have that kind of money they can use that kind of money for bus services."

Kobayashi said she knows a 96-year-old woman who says she doesn’t go out much because she has to walk farther to get to a bus stop because her bus doesn’t pick up at her regular stop.

Council Chairman Ernie Martin said he thinks the city administration is going in the wrong direction by reducing bus services.

Among the complaints he has received are regarding cuts in services affecting Brigham Young University students, he said. He also plans to introduce a resolution supporting free bus passes for senior citizens.

Under questioning from the Council, city Budget Director Michael R. Hansen said the city has more than $6 million in carryover savings and $31 million available because vacant funded positions haven’t been filled.

Hansen said the carryover funds were later appropriated in the 2013 budget to provide essential city services. He said the $31 million in vacant position funding is intended to be used by all departments, including police, fire and parks.

City Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka said the city is continuing to receive comments from riders and to look for ways to improve services.

He said that, for instance, although it reduced the frequency of service from 40 to 60 minutes on rural bus Route 55, the city has added some larger, articulated buses to deal with complaints of overcrowding.

Punaluu resident K.C. Connors said passenger vehicles are stuck behind the larger buses on bus Route 55; the situation creates a hazardous situation if a driver attempts to overtake the large bus on the two-lane road.

"It’s frightening," she said.