The Honolulu City Council voted to increase transit fares starting July 1 in an effort to cover the increasing cost of operating the city’s transit system.
A monthly pass for adults will rise from $80 to $90 and an annual pass will rise from $880 to $990, while a youth monthly pass will rise from $40 to $45. The seven-day pass geared toward visitors will rise from $35 to $45. The cost of a single ride on the Handi-Van will rise from $2.25 to $2.50. Riders’ current time window of two-and-a-half hours of free transfers will shorten to two hours. And to encourage riders to use Holo cards, cash payments will cost an extra 25 cents.
The city expects these increases to contribute another $4 million a year to the approximately $440 million system, and Department of Transportation Services director Roger Morton said the extra money will help cover projected cost increases.
Council members Radiant Cordero, Tyler Dos Santos-Tam and Matt Weyer voted against the fare increases laid out in Bill 54. During a discussion before the vote, they said the increases will hurt riders who rely on TheBus…