Transit users could see combined bus-rail fare system

Honolulu City Council members will have to make key decisions in the coming year about how users of TheBus, Handi-Van and, eventually, the new elevated rail system will all pay their fare under the same system.

A joint task force from the city Department of Transportation Services, Oahu Transit Services (which runs TheBus) and the Hono­lulu Authority for Rapid Transportation has been studying the issue — and the best ways to integrate public transit on Oahu in general — since April.

On Thursday, DTS Deputy Director Mark Garrity brought members of the City Council’s Transportation Committee up to speed on the efforts so far.

Oahu’s bus riders rely on an "antiquated" fare system, Garrity said, paying their way with cash or using monthly or multiday passes. The city lags behind other cities that have incorporated new, more user-friendly fare systems.

However, Honolulu will be able to take advantage of even more recent advancements for a "simple and convenient fare payment experience" that works "seamlessly" between bus and rail, Garrity said.

The island could consider using a next-generation "account-based" fare system in which a passenger’s balance is stored in an office instead of on a card alone, Garrity said.

That way, riders could use the Internet or even their smartphones to add money to their account and then use a "tap-card" or other method to board the bus or train, he said.

The DTS-OTS-HART task force isn’t a policy body, however.

Ultimately, it will be up to the mayor and City Council to decide.

The city will have to make that decision in 2014 in order to put out requests for proposals for a new integrated fare system by 2015. The first portion of Hono­lulu’s 20-mile driverless train is planned to start running in 2017.

For all the talk of technology, the discussion did not address a central question most riders want answered above all else: How much will the new, integrated fares cost?

If officials wait until the first stretch of the rail line begins operating to announce new fares, in 2017, then many commuters who rely on public transit won’t have the chance they need to adjust their personal budgets for any fare hikes, Hono­lulu resident Willie Holly told the Council on Thursday.

After the meeting, Council Transportation Chairman Breene Hari­moto said there would be "ample" advance time for residents to weigh in on whatever the city proposes for new fare prices. Currently a standard ride on TheBus costs $2.50.

"When you adopt new technologies, there are costs involved," Garrity told the Council.