Senior citizens and persons with disabilities would ride TheBus and TheHandi-Van for free under a proposal introduced by City Council Chairman Ernie Martin and up for Council consideration today.

Disabled persons and seniors 65 or older currently pay $30 for a one-year pass to ride TheBus. Bill 58 pending before the Council would eliminate those charges for annual pass holders and would also waive cash fares for seniors and disabled people.

“Many of our seniors are on fixed income, and with the rising cost in services, what I’m looking to is to see where the Council can provide some relief,” Martin said.

He said he considers TheBus an essential service because it is the only transportation available to many seniors who need to use it for shopping or doctor’s appointments.

Wayne Yoshioka, director of the Department of Transportation Services, said his department is still researching how much the bill would cost the city in lost fares, and plans to submit testimony on the measure when it is considered by the Council’s Transportation Committee later this month.

“Given that we already are in a situation where we are having to modify operations because of finances, this has got to be another issue that we have to look at very carefully,” he said.

TheBus system has been struggling to cope with increasing labor and fuel costs, and the city imposed unpopular bus cuts and route changes on June 3 and Aug. 18 that were intended to save the city $6 million to $7 million.