If you own a large car, you may have to start paying more to register your vehicle.
State lawmakers are considering increasing the tax on registering large vehicles to fund the Safe Routes to School Program.
For vehicles over 4,000 pounds — like a 2025 Toyota Tacoma — it would cost 3 cents a pound instead of 2 cents.
Trinity Gilliam at the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Economic Justice said it is important to fund programs like Safe Routes to School.
"Hawaiʻi faces an urgent roadway safety crisis. In 2024 alone, there were 102 traffic fatalities statewide, with 42% involving pedestrians and bicyclists. Pedestrian deaths have increased by 26% in recent years," she said.
"We would like stronger measures to protect our most vulnerable, especially keiki traveling to school. The Safe Routes to School Program plays a key role in this. However, it is severely underfunded. With state's mandates to complete multimodal networks in five years, greater investment is urgently needed."
The measure would also allow more speed enforcement cameras to be placed within 200 feet of a school zone.
There are currently 10 red-light enforcement cameras in Honolulu. Those cameras are also being used to send warnings to those going faster than 5 mph over the speed limit.
