The countywide Hele-On bus system could become free of charge next year, interim Mass Transit Administrator John Andoh told County Council members Tuesday.
The move to a two-year pilot program of free bus fare could actually bring more money into the county than charging for the service because federal funding is based on total ridership, he said. The period spent not collecting fares would be used to upgrade the fare-box system, he said.
The county previously conducted a fare-free pilot project between 2005 and 2013. At that time, ridership surged to 1.5 million passengers annually. Currently, that number stands at about 300,000, Andoh said.
The county bus system collects just $560,000 annually in bus fares, a scant 1% of annual revenues. In contrast, Andoh said, a $700 annual bus fare bill hits low-income commuters hard.
“Low-income passengers depend on the bus,” Andoh said. “I see transit as a social service as well as an equity issue.”
Kohala Councilman Tim Richards agreed.
“It’s an economic driver. … It’s really a bigger picture to get the economy rolling,” Richards said. “Most mass transit is heavily subsidized.”
The discussion about a fare-free pilot project was part of a comprehensive briefing to the council Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit on the county mass transit master plan, the progress made since prior audits and a status report on bus purchases, including the plan to transition to zero-emission buses by 2035.
In the six months since Andoh took the helm, the agency has made great strides in technology, from a mobile ticketing app to accepting credit cards at Mo’oheau Bus Terminal and soon other locations, to an updated website that includes maps plotting suggested routes.
“We have been aggressive in completing tech and our riders are very excited about it,” he said.
Andoh is also meeting with the county Transportation Commission to try to bring them more into an advisory role, a commission whose members have often complained in the past that any comments they made fell on deaf ears.
The agency has completed a fleet replacement plan, increased the number of routes and trips, added east-west connections and airport trips, created later service and simplified the transfer process.
New routes scheduled for February include an Ocean View to Pahala route that will allow someone in Ocean View, Naalehu and Pahala to go to Hilo for business and be able to return the same day. Another route will create a loop so that a rider, such as a tourist, could circle the entire island.
The agency is also working on adding covered benches at bus stops and replacing the old signage with new signs that show route numbers. An environmental assessment is in the works for a Pahoa bus hub that could include a public library. The county will receive $2.6 million in Federal Transportation Administration funds for a bus hub and baseyard for Kona. A solicitation for a consultant is expected shortly.
Council members were thrilled with the presentation from the interim administrator. The council has been less than generous in its praise of previous administrators in an agency that has seen rapid turnover amid a system in disarray.
“You’re number four and we’ve seen more from you in the past three months than the previous three,” said Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy, chairwoman of the committee.
“It’s a welcome sense of overwhelming,” said Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz. “This even exceeds my wildest expectations. I knew I was working with the real deal.”
Richards praised Andoh’s enthusiasm as well as his comprehensive understanding of mass transit issues and experience with other municipalities.
“Listening to mass transit from you is probably one of the most exciting presentations I have heard in a long, long time,” Richards said. “This is what our mass transit needed.”