I have written umpteen times about the crowded buses from Waianae, with people standing up for the two-hour ride to town during rush hour.

Lately, it has been even more crowded, with more homeless people getting on during rush hour, insisting on getting seats because they carry so-called “disabled” cards.

Why can’t TheBus add more routes during the rush hours? As a longtime bus rider by choice, I and other riders now are opting to drive because we are tired of fighting for a seat and standing up during the long ride and unpredictable arrival times. And we don’t have to sit next to smelly fellow passenger in the morning.

We will have rail in the future, but the problem is here now.

Rosita Sipirok-Siregar

Makakilo

Caldwell actually doing great job paving roads

Bryan Holt said the repaving of 256 lane miles last year by Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration was “insignificant” in light of the 3,517 lane miles under the city’s jurisdiction (“256 lane miles is but a pittance overall,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Feb. 4). But stepping back and taking a broader view, a clearer picture emerges.

In the past three years under Caldwell’s leadership, the city has repaved nearly 1,000 lane miles.

To understand the significance of this, consider that in the six years before the mayor took office, 884 lane miles were repaved for an average of 147 lane miles per year.

No chief executive in the history of Honolulu has done more to improve our roads than Caldwell, who set a goal of repaving 1,500 lane miles within five years.

The mayor’s program remains ahead of schedule and he’s dedicated to keeping roads in good shape through slurry sealing and the utilization of a “pavement condition index” that rates roads from zero to 100.

Ross Sasamura

Director of facility maintenance

City and County of Honolulu

Kudos to doctor for sting-relief research

Mahalo to the Star-Advertiser for the article on box jellyfish sting relief (“Sting-relief research touts vinegar’s effect,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 20).

Dr. Angel Yanagihara deserved the front-page recognition for the years of effort she has invested educating the public, lifeguards and emergency responders about box jellyfish and their potent toxic stings.

She not only has urged people to stay out of the ocean during box jelly influxes, eight to 10 days after the full moon, but also that they, if stung, use vinegar spray to dissolve the tentacles and hot water to alleviate the pain.

Through diligent research, she developed the product Sting No More. Hopefully her product helped relieve the pain and suffering for some of the hundreds of people stung during box jellyfish influxes.

Mahalo to Dr. Yanagihara.

Suzanne M. Hammer, M.D.

Kailua

Old-guard taxis are ones that need to change

Why should the city or state put restrictions on Uber and Lyft (“City bills seek to rein in taxi, ride-hailing drivers,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 10)?

We should reduce or lift restrictions from the taxi companies. The taxi companies can set up like the ride-sharing companies and compete.

The city or state should not impose regulations to protect taxi companies just because those companies don’t want to get with the times.

Otto Cleveland

Pearl City