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MPV-06-200a 06:15 PM 9069659254 P. 01 .L MAlr4MA O PUNA P. C~. Box 1520 Pehoa, Hawai 'i 96778 (808) 965.9254 Preserving Hawai 'i's precious natural heritage May 6, 2003 To: Chairman Arakaki ~ members of the Hawaii County Council Re: Bi1198 (1" Reading May 7, 2003) I am limiting my testimony to that p ofBi1198 which covers "Transportation Services -Additional Hilo•Pahoa Bus Route~44,000)". Puna is the fastest growing area of this County, as you all know. For a great many years the public has been calling for more bus routes between Pehoa and Hilo, to no avail With our burgeoning population, this means increased traffic on the existing route, increased air pollution from emissions, increased road rage by fiustrated drivers. It also means decreased ability of many people to access necessary services. It means ow young people have trouble getting to and fiom classes at U. H., and to and from pan time jobs in Hilo. It means that many of our senior citizens, who can no longer drive, are restricted iri their activities As a slossprofit that uses community service people assigned to us by the coasts, we know of many traffic ofPendets who could not got to court because they had no transportation and ended up with bench warrenta. Then their licenses get cancelled and they can't even get to their Community services assignmetlts. There are so many reasons that we need another route -even mote than one additional route. We are many years behind the need- Please pass this appropriation. And please suggest m Tom Brown that the new routes need to be widely publicized. No one will be able to use the service or justify the cost of an additional route if the public doesn't know about it. 9i ly, ,,~,al~6G'1~- Renb Siracusa President ~ ' Comm. No. ~11• ~ , Ref. T~!~MA~ Ref. Date