Honolulu Rate Commission moves out fare plan for bus and rail

After more than a year of deliberations, the Honolulu Rate Commission gave final OK to a plan that raises daily fares and monthly and annual passes for bus and rail riders but leaves it up to the City Council to decide when the new rates should kick in.

The Council, which is in the middle of deliberating on the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, can choose to support the recommendation or come up with its own plan.

Generally, single rides for most will cost $3, a quarter more than now, while monthly and annual passes would be higher as well.

Fares for seniors (65 and older), historically the category that generates the most disagreement, would see monthly passes rise the most (to $20 from $6 a month), while the annual pass would go to $45 from $35.

Commission Chairwoman Cheryl Soon said the recent economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak clearly affects the city’s overall budget picture, but “that’s not our kuleana.” The seven- member commission’s task is to make a recommendation on the relationship between the transit system and to determine how much its operations are to be split between passengers and property tax payers, she said.

“When they go into effect would be determined by the Council and the mayor based on the fiscal needs of the city and the economic conditions they need to work with,” Soon said, adding that “we are completely sensitive to the current situation” caused by COVID-19.

The commission completed a series of three public meetings in March but then was stalled from proceeding after the coronavirus outbreak shut down meetings of nearly all city agencies.

While neither Mayor Kirk Caldwell nor the Department of Transportation Services offered an official position, Soon said, both seemed generally supportive of the plan.

The plan calls for a single, intermodal rate that allows passengers to move easily between taking TheBus and the upcoming rail line, the first segment of which is now slated to begin operations in March.

Those who pay for single rides will be allowed to transfer between city transit vehicles an unlimited number of times within a 2-1/2-hour period, Soon said.

Based on public input, Soon said, the commission Tuesday made several key changes to the proposal it took to public hearings around the island earlier this year, including:

>> Restoring the annual pass category for adults (18-64) and youths (6-17, plus those 18-19 if still in high school).

>> Making rates for seniors, those with disabilities or holding Medicare cards the same as that of a new low-income category.

>> Eliminating a plan to cap the number of those who would receive the low-income discount to no more than 2,000 people. The category would include anyone making 30% of area median income or less as established by federal housing eligibility guidelines.

5-14-bus-fares by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd