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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0075.001 2018-2020 Murashige, Laura ,, • •. , it From: Cristina Shark <cristinasharkrayna@yahoo.com> �, Sent: Friday, March 22, 2019 2:34 PM 7t PR - I rti 12. C H To: cristinasharkrayna@yahoo.com Cc: Hele On Bus; Poindexter, Valerie; Chung, Aaron; Lee Loy, Sue; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt; David, Maile; Villegas, Rebecca; Eoff, Karen; Richards, Tim; Council Testimony; Cook-Lauer, Nancy; Editor@hawaiifreepress.com; Big Island Now; newsdesk@bigislandnow.com; Now, Hawaii News; Erin.Kinoshita@AnthologyGroup.com; islandofhawaii@hvcb.org; letters@hawaiitribune- herald.com Subject: Big Island Public Transportation final master plan comments :) Aloha dear Mayor,SSFM Consultants, current County Council members, Brenda Carreira current MT Administrator, Big Island news outlets+ Big Island residents on my email list! I've taken the time tog o through the final draft of the island's new mass transit Master Plan, thank you so much for your g efforts in moving our very Big Island ("4,028.02 square miles"!) towards having a healthy mass transit system! Glad to hear a thorough review was made of the County General Plan, six adopted community plans, technical studies, etc. Though I heard about the latestpublic input meetingto discuss this final plan scheduled for this coming Monday g justp evening 3/25/19 in Pahoa -- (not sure why notice wasn't sent out to your email list which I am on, or why another meeting asking for public input was once again scheduled for a time bus riders can't attend via current Hele-On bus schedules?) -- but overall,the plan is a well-thought-out document with helpful illustrations.Thank you. In terms of rider feedback, here are my specific comments: * YES to acquiring ample & alternative vehicles suitable for expanded hub & spoke service for the many residents who live in rural subdivisions outside of Hilo & Kona. * YES to having a full working fleet of busses with an additional 20%of spares by: acquiring"6-7 new buses per year to replace half the current fleet size," "lowering the average fleet age to below 6 years," targeting"a fleet size of 55 buses including 25 operating 35-40 foot buses and 5 spares and 20 operating cutaway buses (30 feet or less) with 5 spares," and practicing "a fleet replacement program to acquire 4-5 buses per year on an on-going basis," therefore moving away from the current costly process of contracting tour buses. * I was shocked to learn the current fleet size is now only ELEVEN working busses out of 55 needed just to keep up with current(never mind expanded!) bus schedules, which makes me wonder: why aren't the $419,817 &$700,000 grants applied for&gotten under Curtis Sharp's tenure as consulting MT Administrator back in 2017-2018 (as he was transitioning out of his consultancy) being used to purchase brand new, appropriately-sized, working vehicles??That money should have been received under the auspices of Tiffany Kai &/or subsequent MT Administrator Maria 'Sole' Aranguiz's reign, yes? What was the money spent on??? * Really hoping there will be MUCH better financial accountability in the coming years by those in charge than there's been in years previous where the most recent audit found $30,000 dollars cash just lying around on a break room table... :( Comm. No. 15' 1 1 Ref. To: Ref. Date APR 02 2019 * YES to increasing mass transit service hours. :) * YES to circulator, connector&commuter routes. :) * YES to testing a 29-seat hydrogen vehicle with space for 2 wheelchairs as gifted to the county by HELHA...& potentially acquiring more if they feel viable. :) * Also YES to testing the viability for public transport with electric vehicles. :) * YES to increasing hours for live customer service support from 5AM to midnight, &YES to providing real time information on each run from the dispatcher. * YES to busses running more on time so that scheduled appointments/employment/etc. of riders can be reliably met...&YES to real-time updates if busses are running late, perhaps via new internet apps AND a voicemail number that riders can call for updates, but... * NO to only having Smart Card options for service updates, fare collection, etc. since many rural Big Island residents do not have (or want) Smart phones/tablets. * YES to the addition of sheltered bus stops, especially in typically rain-drenched areas, but... * NO to bus drivers only picking up riders at designated stops since these shelters most likely won't be located on every"block" (or even every mile!) along the many miles of Hwy 11 where riders currently"flag" the bus down as it approaches whatever point on the highway they've been able to walk to from out of our vast rural subdivisions. * YES, to effective public transportation as an affordable option, offering environmentally-conscious as well as lower income individuals/families (+young people, the elderly, &disabled) access to employment, grocery stores, etc; a population estimated to be growing by "60% by the year 2040"(!) along with our"36,320 daily visitors." * YES to keeping public transportation affordable for residents, perhaps by instituting a different, higher fee scale for tourist riders (while also making bus service more reliable), but... * NO to another significant rate hike for resident riders anytime soon. (It's interesting to note that passenger rates grew 84.8% between 2006-2012,averaging 15%growth/year between 2008-2012...but in 2013 when fares were doubled from $1 to $2.00 per adult trip,that resulted in a 30%drop in passengers the next year, which only continued declining in subsequent years as the quality of service also steadily declined.) * YES to a decent mass transit system which is "good for the environment, reducing pollution, and lessening dependence on foreign oil." :) * &YES to our B.I. bus system providing critical alternatives for evacuation during emergencies in a location subject to devastating lava flows, hurricanes, earthquakes&flooding where 84.5%of current riders state they are dependent on Hele-On busses for transportation! * YES to specifically focusing on the currently"underserved areas of Puna & Kau." * YES to the county participating in a several-year trial of subsidizing vanpools for 15-passenger vans more suitable particularly to servicing residents located on the gravel roads within many of the island's rural subdivisions. * YES to inter-subdivision bus service accessing,for example, the paved Kahaualea Road traveling in from Hwy 11 at Akatsuka Orchids into the Fern Forest subdivision so residents from that subdivision as well as from nearby Hawaiian 2 Orchid Isle Estates can have a less than 5 mile walk(with groceries, etc.)to &from bus service currently only available on Hwy 11. :) * YES to adding Sunday bus service between areas like Volcano- Hilo so people can attend things like church. * YES to reassessing&expanding paratransit, as necessary. * YES to reasonable usage of bus transfers to access various locations/business districts within same-day travel. * YES to bike lockers at hub sites& bike racks on busses. :) Whew! Thanks again to everyone who has been working on this...some of you/us for years! :) NOTE: For anyone receiving this email who finds themselves unable to attend Monday evening's meeting but still wants to provide input, the final draft of this mass transit master plan can be perused here: http://heleonmasterplan.com/final-transit-and-multi-modal-transportation-master-plan/ And feedback about it can be sent to: http://heleonmasterplan.com/contact/ Here's to co-creating a system of public transportation on our wonderful island that is truly accessible, reliable, & user- friendly for us all! Blessings& happy Spring everybody, Myelle 3