TheBus to stop using paper passes, sees steady increase in Oahu ridership

TheBus will stop selling paper monthly passes today and passengers instead will be expected to use the new HOLO card that allows them to load funds online.

The HOLO card is designed to make riding TheBus more convenient and will introduce price capping. That means that after using $70 worth of fares a month on the HOLO card, it will automatically stop charging until the next month begins.

However, people will still be able to buy a monthly pass on the HOLO card as well, because the $70 cost is the same.

The Department of Transportation Services is keeping both options in place to avoid confusion among riders who are used to buying a monthly pass.

Paper day passes are scheduled to be discontinued on July 1 and are expected to be replaced with price caps on daily rides. That means that after using a total of $5.50 on TheBus system, riders no longer will be charged if they use the HOLO card.

TheBus will continue to accept cash payments for single rides, and will be reinstating 2-hour transfers.

However, the price capping will not be implemented for riders who do not use the HOLO card.

Roger Morton, director of the city’s Department of Transportation, said there has been a steady increase in ridership as the city begins to reopen from COVID-19 restrictions.

When the pandemic lockdowns began, TheBus daily ridership dropped from about 195,000 to 200,000 people down to only 60,000— about a 70% reduction.

Now, ridership is back to about 55% of pre-pandemic levels, although the latest numbers are two to three weeks behind.

“We do expect our ridership to grow,” Morton said.

“Now, will it grow back to where it was? … Frankly, it’s usually a year or a couple of years before we actually get back to what we would call normal,” he said.

The department is utilizing different federal funding streams to subsidize the dip in ridership.

“The federal government has been extremely supportive of public transportation in this country,” Morton said.

TheBus also reduced routes during the pandemic and is almost back to full service. In April 2020, it was operating at only 85%, but is now operating at a little over 90% of its pre-COVID levels.

And service has increased on the most popular lines, Route 1 and 2. Route 1 begins in Kalihi and goes through Downtown and Waikiki, and ends in Hawaii Kai. Route 2 goes from Kalihi to Downtown to Waikiki and ends around Kapiolani Community College.

While TheBus does not regularly track ridership numbers comparing residents and tourists, Morton said that Route 20, the main line from Daniel K. ­Inouye International Airport to Waikiki “has become more congested in terms of people.”

Increased ridership on Route 20 coincides with an on-going shortage of rental cars in Hawaii and across the country as Oahu’s tourist-based economy continues to heat up this summer.

Route 2 — the Kalihi to KCC route — also has gotten busier, suggesting an increase in ridership among residents.

TheBus changes its service and schedules quarterly, around March, May, August and December.

For its August service changes, it’s looking at the University of Hawaii’s announcement about returning to in-person learning for vaccinated students this fall.

“So fundamentally, we’re looking at the corridors that cross the University of Hawaii at Manoa, including our Route A and 4, just to make sure that we have enough capacity,” said Jon Nouchi, deputy director of the Department of Transportation Services

“So people can emanate from the university to get to transfer points beyond the university.”

In the longer-term, TheBus is looking to adjust its system to the opening of the rail system, which could begin operating interim service as early as December, but has a project completion date of 2031.

However, the current 20-mile route slated from West Kapolei to Ala Moana Center may be adjusted as Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit Interim CEO, Lori Kahikina, are expected to meet with the Federal Transit Administration over the project’s $3 billion budget shortfall and other issues.

Morton said the Department of Transportation Services also is looking at more types of “micro-transit”— especially ones that are semi-on-demand.

“It is trying to link up transit with user apps, the way Uber does,” he said.

“Transit agencies around the country have had success looking at little niche markets, where it just might not make sense to send in a 40-foot big bus.”