TheBus

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TheBus

A typical TheBus livery.
Founded	1971
Headquarters	Honolulu, Hawaii
Service area	City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii
Service type	Public transportation
Routes	107
Stops	4,200
Fleet	531 buses[1]
Daily ridership	224,082 (weekday average, including TheHandi-Van paratransit service)[1]
Fuel type	Diesel, Diesel-electric hybrid
Operator	Oahu Transit Services, Inc.
Chief executive	Roger Morton [2]
Web site	http://thebus.org/

The Bus, also trademarked as TheBus, is the public transportation service of the City & County of Honolulu in the United States. Nationally recognized for its efficiency, customer service and popularity among residents, TheBus has a ridership of approximately 68 million passengers annually through 4,200 bus stops on the island of Oahu. With a fleet of over 531 buses, TheBus serves 107 routes traveling 21.5 million miles and burning 6 million gallons of diesel fuel each year.

Currently, The Bus is privately managed by Oahu Transit Services, Incorporated, which operates the system under contract with the Department of Transportation Services.

[edit] Routes

Main article: List of TheBus Routes

TheBus operates the following:

• 62 standard routes, including 15 spur routes.

TheBus on Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, Hawaii.

• 4 limited-stop, all-day express routes (Routes A, B, C, and E).
  • 1 limited-stop weekday-only route (Route 1L).
• 31 morning and afternoon express routes to and from Pearl Harbor, Downtown Honolulu, Waikiki, and UH-Manoa (Routes 80-86, 88-93, 95-98, 101-103, and 201-203).
• 5 "F" routes (which operate in conjunction with TheBoat ferry service).
• 4 Community Access routes (Routes 414, 501, 503, 504)
  • Community Access routes provide additional paratransit services on request, including route deviations.

[edit] Fares

[edit] Adult/Youth Fares

Youth fares apply to passengers 17 and under, and high school students up to age 19. Passengers over 17 who are not attending high school do not qualify for youth fare.

[edit] Senior Fares

Senior fares apply to passengers 65 years and older. TheBus Senior Card allows for a reduced cash fare with the option of buying a sticker that additionally provides free rides for one month. The Senior Card itself expires 4 years from date of purchase. A U.S. Medicare card can be used in lieu of the Senior Card for the reduced fare.

[edit] Disability Fares

Disabled passengers can purchase a disability pass for reduced cash fares. A U.S. Medicare card can be used in lieu of the disability pass for the reduced fare. Fare structure is otherwise identical to that for senior fares (with the disability pass in lieu of the Senior Card.)

[edit] Other Fares

• The Discovery Pass allows for unlimited rides over 4 consecutive days.
• The U-Pass is a special reduced-price pass available to students at participating colleges. Cost is $100, except for TransPacific Hawaii College and Hawaii Pacific University students, which each include a small processing fee in the price. Valid dates vary depending on the semester for which the pass is purchased. TheBus U-Pass page
• Any passenger paying a cash fare may request a transfer from the driver when boarding. The transfer allows for one additional ride for free within 2 hours of receipt.

[edit] TheHandi-Van

TheHandi-Van is the paratransit supplement to TheBus, and provides shared-ride services to disabled passengers unable to use TheBus. Registration is required, and each ride must be reserved in advance.^[3]

[edit] TheBoat

In conjunction with TheBoat (a pilot project to test an intra-island commuter ferry from Leeward Oʻahu to downtown Honolulu), TheBus has five bus routes that serve the surrounding areas of Barber's Point Harbor in Kapolei and Honolulu Harbor in Honolulu, three for Barber's Point (serving the communities of Kapolei, Makakilo, and Waianae, Makaha) and two for Honolulu (serving Downtown and Waikiki).

[edit] America's Best Transit System

Founded and developed by Mayor Frank Fasi in the 1960s, TheBus has been the only mass transit system to be recognized twice by the American Public Transportation Association as America's Best Transit System for 1994–1995 and 2000-2001, beating other transit systems.^[4]

[edit] In popular culture

Due to its low cost and wide coverage, The Bus is a very popular means of travel by high school students. Because of this popularity, and the fact it was developed during Frank Fasi's tenure as mayor of Honolulu, it received the nickname "Uncle Fasi's Limousine Service"^[5] which is usually shortened to "Uncle Fasi's" or "Fasi's Limo". (Q:"How are you getting to the prom?" A:"Fasi's Limo!"). It should be noted that this terminology is very rarely used today and those of younger generations will probably not know what 'Fasi's Limo' is.

[edit] Fleet

• Gillig Advantage Low Floor (All 40 ft.; 63 buses)
  • 366-368 (1998)
  • 501-555 (2003)
• Gillig Phantom Standard high-floor buses (287 buses)
  • 41-50 (30 ft; 1998)
  • 301-365 (40 ft; 1997)
  • 601-699 (40 ft; 1994-95)
  • 740-799 (40 ft; 1995-96)
  • 801-868 (40 ft; 2000, 2002-03)
• New Flyer D60LF (30 buses)
  • 70-99 (1999)
• New Flyer D60LF (32 buses)
  • 100-115 (2002)
  • 116-131 (2003)
• New Flyer DE60LF
  • 132-141 (2004)
• New Flyer DE40LFR (40 buses)
  • 901-940 (2006)
• Chance/Optima Opus 30 (15 buses)
  • 25-29 (2002)
  • 30-39 (2003)

[edit] See also

• Chance RT-52
• Wiki Wiki Shuttle
• How wiki sites gained their name

[edit] References

[edit] External Links

• City & County of Honolulu
• TheBus
• TheBus Routes and Timetables