Some bus routes get back on track after riders gripe

Kapahulu resident Rose Pou says she used to work as a volunteer once a week, stuffing envelopes at Hono­lulu Zoo. But after bus service was cut last year, Pou, who is legally blind, has been volunteering only once a month.

A trip that used to involve catching one bus on Route 14 down to Diamond Head now requires her to catch two more buses to get there. It’s too long and it’s too much trouble, she says.

"This is not working, the way this is chopped up," Pou said Wednesday of the bus changes. "It’s hurting us. The bus company … if they got out and rode the bus the way we do, they would see how crowded they are."

After hearing hundreds of similar complaints from riders who had longer waits for overcrowded buses, city leaders unveiled a plan Wednesday to reverse many of the cost-saving service changes for TheBus system that serves more than 200,000 riders daily.

The reversals, outlined by Mayor Kirk Caldwell at a news conference at the Alapai Transit Center, will roll out in phases during March, May and August.

They mostly consist of restoring frequency. They also restore some original routes during limited hours and on the weekends. The plan further looks to boost service along what used to be Route B, a popular option for commuters to Waikiki that was eliminated. However, it won’t be restored under the new plan.

Wednesday’s unveiling follows an outcry from passengers across Oahu — including many seniors and disabled riders — who say the changes made getting to appointments, work, school and other destinations more difficult even as they spend more of their day waiting for the bus.

"It’s great news," Manoa resident Donald Au said after the changes were announced. Au, whose family relies on Route 5, was one of several city residents to circulate petitions last year that garnered hundreds of signatures in support of overturning the changes.

Caldwell’s plan will restore Route 5’s morning peak hour service to every 30 minutes in May. Au said he had hoped the plan would restore evening peak hours, too.

"I’m going to let my friends know and they’re going to be happy about it," he said. "It’s going to help all the people that use that No. 5 route. The people that go to school, that work in the morning — that’s going to be a big help. Even for the senior citizens."

Caldwell pledged to reverse the changes during his mayoral campaign, and after he was elected the Department of Transportation Services began weighing options.

"It really disrupted peoples’ lives on this island — in some cases, almost destroyed them," Caldwell said Wednesday. Many residents were already struggling to make ends meet and with the changes, he said, "we made it more difficult."

Last month, Caldwell and his DTS director, Michael Formby, met with concerned residents for more input. Many riders have kept the pressure on by testifying at public meetings.

The bus cuts and other service changes began last June. They aimed to save up to $7 million a year by adjusting 21 routes. The city expects that fuel costs for bus service will increase by about $3 million this year.

Caldwell said transit officials chose the reversals that would offer the "most bang for the buck." They avoided reversing other changes that do make sense and have been embraced by riders, he said.

The annual cost to restore selected services, including some reversals of cuts in late 2012, totals $4.6 million, officials said.

The changes would cost $305,000 through the rest of this fiscal year, Caldwell said, and will be covered with "provisional" accounts. They’re essentially contingency funds that can be tapped by city agencies for unforeseen costs after City Council approval.

It’s not clear yet how the $4.6 million will be covered in subsequent fiscal years, but likely would come from the general fund and any other revenue that city finance officials can find, Caldwell said. The Council, he added, has heard how important the issue is to riders and would likely make it a spending priority as budget talks occur next month.

The city requires that fares riders pay cover between 27 percent and 33 percent of the cost of operating TheBus, with city taxpayers subsidizing the system by paying most of the rest of the cost. That taxpayer subsidy will be about $135 million this fiscal year.

The Council might have to decide whether to raise fares to stay inside of that window of 27 percent to 33 percent, Formby said.

City officials said they would see how the reversals go before deciding whether any more changes need to be made.