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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0150.028 2012-2014 comments on (2) Mass Transit Agency Review for Hawai'i County Council Committee on Finance, 9 AM Friday, April 12, 2013, Hilo Chambers from Cory Harden, PO Box 10265, Hilo, Occupied Hawai'i 96721 808-968-8965 mh@interpac.net We need to restore free bus service, not raise fares. About one out of five Hawaii County residents are on food stamps. "Pick five Hawaii County residents out of any supermarket checkout line and chances are good that at least one is buying groceries with food stamps."[Food stamp use doubles on Big Island, Hawai'i Tribune-Herald. 1-25-12] COUNTY CLERK About one out of seven live below the poverty level. COUNTY OF HAWAI'I [2007-2011 data from U.S. Census Bureau, RECEIVED http://quickfacts.census,gov/qfd/states/15/15001.html] Time :ooa.... BY an Date y/,,,/� When the bus was free, it obviously filled a need--in five years ridership more than doubled. "...ridership last year was over 1.1 million, up from 400,000 in 2005, the year the county initiated the fare-free `kokua zone.' These zones currently cover the entire island..."[Hele On fees off and on, Hawai'i Island Journal, 5-25-11] Resorts should help pay for the bus. Resort salaries are so low that workers can't live nearby, so they make up a huge percentage of bus riders. "Some 90,500 riders used the bus system in January...about 40 percent of them were heading to South Kohala, the majority being workers in the area resorts...the five routes serving that area cost 42.5 percent of the total$2.8 million contracted in fiscal year 2011-12...Although resort workers count for a high percentage of total ridership, to her[Tiffany Kai, acting Mass Transit administrator]knowledge, no one has approached the resorts about chipping in for the cost of mass transit..." The County could also encourage donations to offset some of the cost. Long-time Council member Pete Hoffman said free bus service is not an "economic burden", but an "economic driver". [Hele On fees off and on, Hawaii Island Journal. 5-25-11] if people can't get to work because they can't afford a car. and can't find a bus. they don't pay taxes— instead they require government services. Cars are black holes for money. "The average household spends 16 cents of every dollar on transportation, and 94% of this goes to buying, maintaining, and operating cars, the largest expenditure after housing... Households that are likely to use public transportation on a given day save more than $9,700 every year...." (Public Transportation Benefits, American Public Transportation Association, copyright 2013. http://www.apta.cornhnediacenterlptbenefits/Pacies/defaultaspx Cars are also black holes for County budgets. Costs are astronomical for building, maintaining,and repairing roads, and rushing ambulances, fire trucks, and police to every crash. Cars crash more—they have 25 times the number of fatal accidents per mile compared to transit. "According to a 2006 report, public transit has 0.03 fatal accidents per 100 million miles—about 1/25th the rate for automobiles;injuries as well as fatalities are reduced."[Public Transportation: Benefits for the 21st Century, American Public Transportation Association, 2007, p. 7, http://www.apta.com/qap/policyresearch/Documents/twenty first centurv.pdf, citing "Injury Facts, 2005-2006 Edition. Itasca, iL: National Safety Council, 2006.7 [Bus fares may rise, Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 5-5-13] p Comm. No. /s � '24 Ref. To: 'If C. Ref. Date APR 12 7013 How we use land, and how we earn our living, is shaped by whether we support cars, which increase sprawl, or public transportation, which prevents it. Cars mean more land gobbled up by roads, and less land devoted to growing food, hosting businesses, and preserving open space. "Public transportation services...provide mobility, can shape land use and development patterns, generate jobs and enable economic growth, and support public policies regarding energy use, air quality and carbon emissions."[p. i] "Investment in public transportation expands service and improves mobility, and, if sustained over time, can potentially affect the economy by providing: • travel and vehicle ownership cost savings for public transportation passengers and those switching from automobiles, leading to shifts in consumer spending; •reduced traffic congestion for those traveling by automobile and truck, leading to further direct travel cost savings for businesses and households..."[p. [Economic Impact of Public Transportation Investment,Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Project J-11, Task 7, by Economic Development Research Group and Cambridge Systematics, for American Public Transportation Association, October 2009] "in communities across America "sprawl"-scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space -is taking a serious toll...increasing air and water pollution, devouring wetlands and forests, and burdening our communities with the social and economic costs of unplanned growth. But runaway growth is not inevitable. Hundreds of urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods are choosing to manage sprawl with smart growth solutions. These solutions, including establishing urban growth boundaries, preserving farmland and green space, investing in alternate forms of transportation, and building compact pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, can help manage growth and control sprawl." [http://www.sierraclub.orglsprawllfactsheet.asp] Transit service can increase property values. "The average value of housing performed nearly 42 percent better when located near high- frequency public transit during the worst slump in the real estate market in recent years..." [Home Values Perform Better Near Public Transit During Recession, Passenger Transport, 4-5- 13, American Public Transportation Association, http://www.apta.com/passengertransport/Pages/LatestIssue.aspx] Please support restoring free bus service.