Bus fares should be rider-friendly

Riders of TheBus would benefit from a $5 all-day, unlimited-rides pass under a City Council proposal that also would ditch the system’s two-hour-limit paper transfers.

Councilman Brandon Elefante introduced the proposal, Bill 69, to create a $5 unlimited all-day pass for adults and scrap the use of transfers, which riders currently use to take a different route for free within two hours of their original ride. Under the measure, riders under 18 and high school students would be able to buy the day pass for $2.50; disabled riders could buy it for $2.

The bill must be referred to a Council committee to proceed, and we urge Council members to support the new fare structure.

It appears the city Department of Transportation Services will likely support the proposal. Mike Formby, head of the agency, said the department considered last year pursuing an unlimited day pass for TheBus, but opted not to since the bus fare system is slated to be overhauled in several years to work with rail.

But the full rail system is years away. Last week rail officials said the projected completion of rail and its 21 stations would likely be pushed back from 2020 to 2021.

Now more than ever, commuters need to see improvements and ease of use when it comes to public transportation, in light of worsening traffic congestion on Oahu roadways.

Elefante said he hopes more people will be encouraged to ride the bus. Indeed, efforts need to start now to make TheBus more appealing to commuters, and to habitualize mass transit ridership with positive experiences. Toward this goal, the unlimited day pass factors in not just cost, but ease. Imagine taking the day to circle Oahu aboard TheBus for a mere $5: Get off in Haleiwa, browse through boutiques and galleries, grab a shave ice and get back on a bus without worry of exceeding the two-hour limit of a paper transfer.

Additionally, the proposal removes the hassle of bus drivers having to carefully examine each transfer as they try to stay on schedule, Formby said. And it would end abuse under the current system — more riders use transfers than request them, which indicates there is some level of fraud.

This is a solid intermediate step until rail is on track.

But discussions should be happening now that focus on how to mesh the rail with TheBus. It’s crucial that city transportation officials and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation start the public conversation now about how to provide a seamless mass transit system in which commuters can move from train to bus, and vice versa, without hassle. And that conversation should involve the riders.

A lack of foresight and reactive, crisis-management planning has plagued the rail system thus far. (Note the Waipahu left-turn lane off Farrington Highway that will reopen only after businesses cried foul.) In looking ahead, it would be prudent to involve the stakeholders in the planning now rather than force-feed them later.

For now, the unlimited day pass is a proven option. Other jurisdictions have embraced the concept, including Maui County, which offers the option at $4 a day to ride its public bus. And at least 19 other major U.S. cities offer bus day passes ranging from $3.50 in Baltimore to $17 in San Francisco, according to figures provided by Elefante’s aides.

Under Bill 69, TheBus’ $35 four-day unlimited pass would be scrapped because the single-day pass would allow riders to purchase those limited rides for $15 less. Riders would still be able to board for a single ride, at $2.50, less the transfer. It would not affect monthly, annual and biennial passes.

The fare structure changes would come in July if the proposal wins Council approval. Let’s hope so, in order to simplify and to get more people using public transit, especially with rail now running behind schedule.