A ride on TheBus could cost more under a bill nearing a final vote in the Honolulu City Council.
The council moved Bill 54 out of its Budget Committee on Tuesday, sending it to a third and final council vote.
The measure proposes increasing the price of annual transit passes from the current $880 to $990, and monthly passes from $80 to $90.
Bill 54 also calls for a $0.25 price hike for single rides paid with cash, which currently cost $3 for adults, $1.50 for youth, and $1.25 for those who qualify for reduced fares such as kūpuna.
The price would remain at $3 for those who use a HOLO card to ride TheBus.
For comparison, a regular adult fare is currently $3 in Seattle, $2.50 in San Diego, and $2.80 in Portland, Oregon. In New York City, subway and bus fares are also $3, up from $2.90 as of Jan. 4.
Most of the public sentiment at Tuesday’s committee meeting opposed the increase. Among the most vocal was Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, who noted that Oʻahu’s bus ridership skews toward low-income households.
“We're always talking about what we can do to help the poorest families on the island. And yet, right now we are about to raise their fares and charge them an additional $110 a year, and for a couple that's an additional $220 a year. And if they have kids, it's additional money on top of that,” Dos Santos-Tam said.
“Twenty percent of the people boarding TheBus today use cash, so for each one of them — that's 20,000-plus riders a day — they're gonna be paying an extra quarter, and that adds up over the course of the year.”
The Honolulu Department of Transportation Services, which supports the bill and oversees public transportation on the island, said its expenses are growing, and that fares have not increased in four years.
The new rate was supported by the Honolulu Rate Commission, and DTS Director Roger Morton said the bill’s proposal includes just moderate rate increases.
“The answer is there's no easy way to raise fares. I've been a public transit advocate for more than 50 years, so it pains me to come and to raise fares,” Morton said. “But I think that what we're looking for here is a balance."
Morton said the department’s expenses are around $440 million per year. He estimated that will grow by about $20 million next year.
He noted that fares from TheBus represent just around $45 million — about 10% of the department's budget — and Bill 54 could net around an extra $4 million.
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