Bus riders this fall will be able to purchase a one-day, all-you-can-ride pass for TheBus — a move that could help to streamline the boarding process and boost ridership.

Bill 69, which Mayor Kirk Caldwell signed into law Friday, eliminates paper transfer slips and allows adult passengers to purchase a pass for an unlimited number of trips within a 27-hour period, from midnight the first day until 2:59 a.m. the next day. The bill specifies the cost of the one-day pass at double the amount of a single-ride fare, which is currently $2.50.

Caldwell said no decisions have yet been made on any increases in bus fares, which would require City Council approval.

Officials plan to begin offering the new pass in October.

Riders will still be able to purchase a $2.50 single-ride fare but will no longer have the option to transfer to a second bus for free. Existing monthly and annual passes will still be options, but the $35 four-day pass will be eliminated.

“It’s going to help everyone,” said Caldwell at a press conference Friday at the Waipahu Transit Center. “These will be much simpler and easier to manage.”

Councilman Brandon Elefante, who introduced the bill, said Honolulu is one of the few cities without a one-day pass. “The hope is that we can get more people to use transit,” said Elefante, who represents Waipahu, Pearl City and Aiea. “We want to make it an easy and efficient way to ride the bus.”

The elimination of transfers is not expected to negatively affect most bus riders. Roger Morton, Oahu Transit Services president and general manager, said most passengers who use transfer slips make two trips a day. Morton said studies show that the one-day pass would be revenue neutral and could potentially boost revenue if ridership increases. He said transfer slips have been the “bane of our drivers for many, many years.”

“We’ve been trying to get something like this going for years and years,” Morton said. “This is really a win-win for everybody. We think it will build ridership more than it already is, particularly at off-peak times.”

The city Department of Transportation Serv-ices supported the bill because it would lessen transfer fraud and abuse. The department had estimated that about 15 percent of the roughly 200,000 bus daily passengers now pay cash, with everyone else using monthly or annual passes. Elefante had also said that a recent study showed that of those who do pay cash, only about 6 percent are one-way travelers who use transfer slips.