Bill Text: HI HR12 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urging Strong Support Of Service Improvements To Thebus And The Authorization Of An Exterior Fixed-route Bus Advertising Plan.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-07 - Referred to TRN, FIN, referral sheet 27 [HR12 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-HR12-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	12
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging strong Support of service improvements to thebus and the Authorization of an exterior fixed-route bus advertising plan.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, access to affordable and reliable transportation is essential to addressing poverty, unemployment, and equal opportunity goals such as access to good schools, health care services, and career advancement opportunities; and

 

     WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Transportation Services seeks to improve service to its customers in the City and County of Honolulu, including restoring bus service for the Route E, CountryExpress! that travels from Ewa Beach to Waikiki with stops in Waipahu and downtown Honolulu; and

 

     WHEREAS, on June 3, 2012, the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Transportation Services instituted service changes for TheBus that modified routes, reduced services, lengthened wait times, and eliminated routes for thirteen different bus routes, including routes serving the community of Ewa; and

 

     WHEREAS, TheBus' 2012 service changes negatively impacted bus riders across the island, but especially strained customers in leeward Oahu communities whose access to viable public transportation was severely constrained due to these service changes; and

 

     WHEREAS, customers in leeward Oahu face great hardship and significantly extended commute times of up to two hours each way between Ewa and downtown Honolulu; and

 

     WHEREAS, TheBus faces increased operating costs at a time when the City and County of Honolulu's administration and the Honolulu City Council are disinclined to raise bus fares but also desire improved services; and

 

WHEREAS, exploring alternative sources of sustainable revenues is essential to improve services while avoiding an increase in bus fares; and

 

     WHEREAS, privately operated buses, carriers, trucks, and trailers may advertise on vehicle exteriors; and

 

     WHEREAS, state law does not prohibit exterior advertising on buses, giving each county in the State the power to regulate advertisements on public buses; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2013, City and County of Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell proposed Bill 69 to authorize the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Transportation Services to sell advertising space on the exterior of fixed-route public transit buses and paratransit vehicles to generate sustainable revenues for the operation of TheBus and TheHandi-Van; and

 

     WHEREAS, Mayor Caldwell's exterior bus and paratransit vehicle advertising proposal is narrowly tailored to limit the types and sizes of advertisements and represents a fiscally sound decision to improve service of TheBus and TheHandi-Van for the people of the City and County of Honolulu; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that all members of the Honolulu City Council are urged to strongly support service improvements to TheBus and the authorization of an exterior fixed-route public transit bus advertising plan for buses servicing the City and County of Honolulu, as proposed in City and County of Honolulu Bill 69 (2013); and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, each member of the Honolulu City Council, the Director of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu, the Director of Budget and Fiscal Services of the City and County of Honolulu, each member of the Ewa Neighborhood Board No. 23, and the Chairpersons of each City and County of Honolulu neighborhood board.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Urging strong support of service improvements to TheBus and authorization of an exterior fixed-route bus advertising plan.