The Honolulu City Council unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would benefit low-income public transportation riders and others looking to save money on frequent trips.
The bill, passing its third reading and sent to the mayor for approval, would establish daily and monthly limits to the cost of transit fares that can be charged to a city payment card used for the bus, paratransit and rail.
For additional rides that would otherwise exceed the limit, no extra fares would be charged. Any additional rides within 2-1/2 hours of first tapping the card would not be charged if the same card is used.
By alleviating the cost of transfers in a daily commute to work or school, the bill could make life easier for residents.
Resident James K. Manaku Sr. spoke of his children when he testified before the Council. “Every time they get off the bus and get on the bus, they have to pay a full fare,” he said. The new bill “would really help families, because that’s a lot of money we’re spending every day,” he said.
People who qualify for Supplemental Security Income can receive reduced fares. Those whose income is considered extremely low by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also can qualify for reduced fares by applying to the Department of Community Services.
For those eligible people, a single ride would cost $1.25. The maximum they could be charged in a day would be $3 and for a month $20, though these rates do not apply for the paratransit system.
The bill also would make an annual pass available for purchase.
Under the new fare schedule, adults would not have to pay more than $7.50 per day, $80 per month or $880 for an annual pass.
Youth would not pay more than $3.75 per day, $40 per month or $440 for the annual pass.
Medicare cardholders, seniors and people with disabilities who are Hawaii residents would pay no more than $3 a day, $20 a month or $45 for the yearly pass.
Paratransit-eligible ID holders would have their fares limited to $2 a day, $6 a month and $35 for the yearly pass. Paratransit, like Honolulu’s HandiVan, is intended for people who cannot use the bus due to a disability.
The program would use a city subsidy of $1.5 million per fiscal year unless other appropriations are used, the bill states.
A spokesperson for Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said the likelihood that the mayor signs the bill is “pretty high.”
Earlier in the session, the City Council recorded the mayor’s veto of a bill that the Council had approved to crack down on amplified noise in Waikiki.
