Question: I routinely see a city bus parked at the bus stop at Date Street and University Avenue, especially in the mornings. This is along the side of the McCully-Moiliili Fire Station. This effectively blocks the right lane, and since the bus is so near the intersection, it’s difficult to see pedestrians until entering the intersection. Should the bus stop be used to park buses? Could a less obstructive location be used to park the buses?
Answer: There is a reason buses periodically park at that stop, as well as others around the island, and it has to do with schedules and timing.
But whether another location can be considered is not a simple matter of just moving. The stop in question has been a terminus for Route 4 and used for the temporary parking for years, according to the city Department of Transportation Services.
Transit planners build “recovery” time into bus schedules between arrivals at the end of a route and departures for return trips, to account for delays and preparation for the return trips, explained DTS Director Michael Formby.
“This procedure allows the routes to return to schedule if traffic, loading or other conditions cause late arrivals,” he said. “Otherwise, the route times would be off for the rest of the day.”
Rest or break time between trips for the driver may be included in the terminus layover, he said. “The later a bus arrives at the terminus, the less time is available for the layover.”
Regarding pedestrian safety, DTS’ Traffic Engineering Division is conducting a study to assess whether there are safety issues that need to be addressed. But this will take time “given all the requests we get from the (City) Council and community,” Formby said.
Question: My son has decided to move here permanently. Can he use his present out-of-state driver’s license until it expires? Will he have to take a written or road test? What are the requirements for him to obtain a driver’s license in Hawaii?
Answer: Your son may use his out-of-state license if it is current, but he should apply for a Hawaii license before it expires.
If he does so, applying for what’s called an out-of-state transfer, he will be required to take and pass an eye test and a general-knowledge written test.
If his license expires, it is not transferable, and he will have to take and pass a road test as well as the eye and written tests.
Section 286-105(3) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes allows a person to drive in Hawaii if he/she is at least 18 years old and has a valid license issued by another state, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Canada or the Northern Mariana Islands.
When your son applies for a Hawaii license at a driver’s licensing station, he must provide his out-of-state license and submit original documents proving identity, legal presence and Social Security number.
His name must be the same on all the submitted documents. If not, he must also submit the original document verifying a name change.
More details about the process of transferring a license can be found online at is.gd/TgsoM2.
For information on what documents are now required to get a driver’s license or state ID card, go to hidot.hawaii.gov/hawaiis-legal-presence-law.
MAHALO
To Casey and Ernesto at Sears Pearlridge. It was a rainy day when I drove there to repair my broken car window. However, I was told that they do not do that kind of repair work for my foreign car. In frustration, I went back out into the rain to find Casey and Ernesto, two young men from the Sears Auto Battery Department, standing in the rain putting plastic sheeting on my window to keep the rain out. A big mahalo to them for reminding this old lady how kind people can be. Sears should be proud to have you two as employees. God bless! — No Name
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