Committee moves repeal of city fare‑box recovery policy to budget committee

The committee on Sept. 24 voted to send a resolution repealing the City and County of Honolulu’s fare‑box recovery ratio policy to the Budget Committee for further consideration.

Council Member Trent DeSantos‑Tam introduced the resolution, arguing the fare‑box recovery target has not been met since its adoption and is not a useful measure for bus system performance. “We have not met this. We never have, and we're not going to anytime soon,” he said, summarizing why he brought the repeal.

Director Roger Morton of the Department of Transportation Services told the committee the ratio has been affected by higher operating costs and sustained ridership declines since the COVID‑19 pandemic. “In 2019 … we came very close to the goal,” Morton said, and he said many peer systems face similar pressures.

Public testimony included riders and advocates who urged flexible metrics and continued support for subsidized, accessible transit. Ross Isokane of the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization said public transportation “must be heavily subsidized” and called the fare‑box percentage a “misguided concept.”

Committee members agreed to refer the resolution to the Budget Committee for further review and potential action. Director Morton said he would not oppose suspension of the policy for several years but would prefer to revisit it once the transit system is more complete and ridership stabilizes.