A free bus fare system could be more accessible than some think, according to the newest report from the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice.
The team's "Funding Free Transit" report predicts it would cost roughly $62 million annually to keep operations running as they are now. It states that on Oʻahu, about 15% of The Bus system's operating costs are supported by fares — the remaining 85% is funded through public revenue.
To make up for the 15% of the budget that is currently supported by bus fares, the report suggests pulling from other existing sources, including the barrel tax, the Clean Fuel Standard or the state's highway fund.
Malia Boksanski, the Hawaiʻi Appleseed's transportation equity policy analyst and lead author on the report, said there needs to be a general shift in perspective regarding public transportation.
"This isn't a value question — people really see the value of offering fare free transit, so the hurdle is funding," Boksanski told HPR. "Even though we say fair free transit, you know, someone is ultimately paying for people to be able to ride for free. I think this report was really to get the ball rolling and kind of get this conversation started, but it is going to take serious investment."
Similar efforts have been presented before, but have yet to pass or garner enough support and funding to enact.
Earlier this year, Hawaiʻi Appleseed presented the Keiki Ride Free program, which is a scaled version of the universal free transit system the new report suggests. Advocates said this would boost ridership and ease the transportation burden on working families.
The report also pulls data from Hawaiʻi County's Hele-On service, which has been free since 2022 and will continue through 2028. Since it began, ridership has more than doubled and surpassed what it was pre-pandemic.
"Fare-free transit is not only good for our planet, but it's good for our people. This is a really important step in making sure that all people of Hawaiʻi have access to school, to work, to the doctors, to grocery stores," Boksanski said. "Making it free for everyone shows that public transit isn't just a fallback for those who can't afford a car. It's a public good, and it's something that everyone can take and everyone can benefit from."
Boksanski said Hawaiʻi Appleseed will be supporting bills based on both the Keiki Ride Free program and a statewide universal fare-free program during the new legislative session, which is set to begin on Jan. 20, 2027.
