Department of Transportation Services

HONOLULU – The Honolulu Rate Commission will be accepting public testimony on proposed policy changes affecting Skyline, TheBus and TheHandi-Van at their November 12 meeting. Proposed changes to public transportation fare structures will ensure the City’s transportation system is reliable, sustainable and able to meet the changing needs of Oʻahu’s transit riders.

The Department of Transportation Services (DTS) is considering changes to transit fares. Across our multimodal system, including TheBus, Handi-Van, and Skyline, operating and maintenance costs are rising. Adjustment to fares ensure we can maintain service quality across all modes.

“It’s always hard to find the balance between what taxpayers contribute to the upkeep of the system, and the riders that use the system”, says DTS Director Roger Morton. “It’s always a difficult decision to increase transit fares. However, transit fares have not been increased since 2022. The fare policy changes under consideration will also simplify the current fare structure, making the system more user-friendly for residents and visitors”.

As part of the City’s efforts to streamline its public transit, new and faster TheBus service will be introduced in conjunction with segment 2 of Skyline rail. These improvements will simplify travel across Oʻahu and create better connections for transit users.

We invite the public to provide testimony at the Rate Commission’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, starting at 2:30 PM at the Mānoa Falls Conference Room, 711 Kapi‘olani Boulevard, Suite 1600. The meeting can be attended in-person or via the Zoom platform. The Zoom meeting link can be found here.

A copy of the meeting agenda can be found on the Rate Commission website here.

Some of the proposed fare adjustments include:

• Increases in monthly pass fares for Adults and Youth
• Increases in annual pass fares
• Decreases in monthly pass fares for Hawaiʻi resident Senior, Medicare, Disabled and Low-Income

There are no proposed changes to single fares for Adult, Youth and Senior HOLO card users.

Full details regarding the proposed changes can be found on the Rate Commission website here.

Written testimony may be submitted via:

Email: ratecomm@honolulu.gov

Fax: (808) 768-4730

Mail: 711 Kapiʻolani Boulevard, 16th Floor, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813; Attention: Rate Commission.

Once received, written testimonies, including the testifier’s address, email and phone number, will be publicly available on the Rate Commission website.

If you need an auxiliary aid/service or other accommodation due to a disability, contact Puni Chee at 808-768-8329 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or send an email to hchee@honolulu.gov as soon as possible. Requests made as early as possible have a greater likelihood of being fulfilled.

We encourage everyone to offer comments to assist the Rate Commission in preparing their upcoming recommendation to DTS and the Honolulu City Council.

—PAU—