TheBus ends the use of paper passports and sees a steady increase in the number of passengers on Oahu
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TheBus will stop selling paper monthly cards today and passengers are instead expected to use the new HOLO card, which will allow them to top up money online.
The HOLO card is intended to make driving with TheBus more comfortable and will introduce an upper price limit. This means that after using fares worth $ 70 per month, the HOLO card will automatically stop charging until the start of the next month.
However, people can still buy a monthly pass for the HOLO card as the cost of $ 70 is the same.
The Department of Transportation Services is maintaining both options to avoid confusion among drivers who are used to buying a monthly pass.
Paper day tickets are to be discontinued on July 1st and are expected to be replaced by price caps for daily trips. This means that after using a total of $ 5.50 on TheBus system, passengers will no longer be charged when using the HOLO card.
TheBus continues to accept cash payments for single trips and is re-establishing 2-hour transfers.
However, the price cap will not be implemented for drivers who do not use the HOLO card.
Roger Morton, director of the city’s Department of Transportation, said passenger numbers have steadily increased as the city reopens due to COVID-19 restrictions.
When the pandemic lockdowns began, TheBus’ daily ridership dropped from about 195,000 to 200,000 to just 60,000 – a decrease of about 70%.
Passenger numbers are now back to around 55% of pre-pandemic levels, although the latest numbers are two to three weeks ago.
“We expect our passenger numbers to grow,” said Morton.
âWill it grow back to where it was now? ⦠In all honesty, it usually takes a year or a couple of years before we get back to what we would call normal, âhe said.
The department uses various federal funding streams to subsidize the decline in passenger numbers.
“The federal government has been extremely supportive of public transport in this country,” said Morton.
TheBus also reduced routes during the pandemic and is almost fully operational again. It was only 85% operational in April 2020, but now at just over 90% of its pre-COVID levels.
And service on the most popular lines, Routes 1 and 2. Route 1 starts in Kalihi and runs through Downtown and Waikiki and ends in Hawaii Kai. Route 2 runs from Kalihi to downtown Waikiki and ends around Kapiolani Community College.
While TheBus doesn’t regularly track passenger numbers compared to residents and tourists, Morton said Route 20, the main line from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to Waikiki, “has become congested in terms of people.”
The surge in traffic on Route 20 coincides with a persistent shortage of rental cars in Hawaii and across the country as Oahu’s touristy economy continues to heat up this summer.
Route 2 – the route from Kalihi to KCC – has also become busier, suggesting an increase in passenger numbers among residents.
TheBus changes its service and timetables every quarter, around March, May, August and December.
For the August service changes, it takes into account the University of Hawaii announcement to return to face-to-face learning for vaccinated students this fall.
“So we basically look at the corridors that cross the University of Hawaii at Manoa, including our Routes A and 4, just to make sure we have enough capacity,” said Jon Nouchi, assistant director of the Department of Transportation Services
“This is how people can start from the university in order to get to transfer points outside the university.”
In the longer term, TheBus is aiming to adapt its system to the opening of the rail system, which could start interim traffic as early as December but will have the project completed by 2031.
However, the currently planned 20-mile route from West Kapolei to the Ala Moana Center can be adjusted as Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit’s interim CEO Lori Kahikina deal with the Federal Transit Administration about the $ 3 billion – The project’s dollar budget will meet shortfalls and other problems.
Morton said the Department of Transportation Services is also considering more types of “microtransit” – especially those that are semi-on-demand.
“It tries to tie public transport to user apps like Uber is doing,” he said.
“Transportation agencies across the country have successfully dealt with small niche markets where it may not make sense to send a 12-meter bus.”
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