Riders using the county’s new Hele-On Kakoo paratransit system will pay a $4 fare each way after an attempt Wednesday by Hilo Councilman Dennis “Fresh” Onishi to halve the amount was killed by a County Council majority.
The paratransit service, offering door-to-door transportation for those riders who fill out a form and qualify, started July 1 in Kona and Hilo. The county was required to institute a system as part of a settlement of a lawsuit by a Hele-On bus rider who couldn’t get his motorized wheelchair onto a fixed-route bus.
The Americans with Disabilities Act allows the county to charge up to twice the fare for a nondisabled rider on the fixed-route system. The county paratransit system runs within a 1-mile corridor off of the intra-Hilo and intra-Kona fixed routes.
Some riders said a $4 fare each way is just too expensive, especially considering disabled riders on the Hele-On fixed route bus pay a discounted fare of just $1.
With a regular fixed-route ticket at $2, county administrators wanted to charge $4 for the paratransit system. But Onishi pushed for a $2 fare, saying that’s twice the $1 fare for disabled riders on the fixed-route system.
Since the fare doesn’t come close to paying for the service, why not give disabled riders a break, Onishi asked. Many disabled individuals don’t have a high income and the $2 difference could make the difference between having a hamburger for lunch or not, he said.
“It doesn’t really put a dent in it,” Onishi said of the county’s cost.
But four council members — Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung, Puna Councilman Greggor Ilagan, Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille and Kona Councilman Dru Kanuha — voted the lower price down. The amendment died on a 4-4 vote, with one council member absent.
“I don’t want to sound like I’m an anti-disabled person person ,” Wille said. “Every other taxpayer will subsidize this.”
The paratransit plan is expected to cost $800,000 the first year, according to Mass Transit Administrator Tiffany Kai. She told the council earlier it costs the county $13 for each fixed-route rider each way, compared to $80 an hour for the Kona paratransit system and $75 an hour for the Hilo one.
“I believe that public transportation is mostly subsidized by the taxpayers, not by the fares,” said Ilagan, saying low fares keep the entire system from being able to expand. “I would not want to burden people who are already burdened in their lives.”
It costs the county $150 to assess each applicant for the paratransit system.
About 30 eligible riders made 52 trips in July. That number jumped to 117 trips in August, bringing the county’s cost from $14,000 to $26,000.
“This has the potential to be a huge burden on the county if it really takes off,” Chung said.
The fare will be set after one more reading and signature of the mayor on Bill 229, likely before the month is out.
The bill was rewritten to give the Mass Transit administration flexibility to raise or lower the fare if the $2 fixed-route fare goes up or down, without having to come back to the council.
The county jumped the gun and started charging the $4 fare before the law was put into effect. Currently, the service is free, said Carol Yamame, who’s in charge of the program.
The paratransit plan is part of a 20-page settlement agreement signed last year by U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi in Honolulu after the county was sued for not complying with the ADA.
The state Department of Transportation is monitoring the remediation of the Hele-On bus system for compliance with the ADA. The county is required to provide quarterly update reports on the progress of 15 remedial actions.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
