Oahu Transportation Business & Shopping Hawaii Directory

Home » Hawaii » Hawaii Oahu » Oahu Transportation » Oahu Transit Services Incorporated

Oahu Transit Services Incorporated in eList Hawaii Directory

TheBus has been a transportation success ever since the City and County of Honolulu first took over public ownership in 1971. Ridership has grown from 30 million passengers per year to approximately 71 million today. TheBus is now the 20th most utilized transit system in the country and the 13th most utilized bus fleet. TheBus has the lowest cost per passenger mile of any system and one of the lowest cost per boarding passengers in the industry. This is truly noteworthy given that Hawaii is one of the highest cost areas in the country. On a per-capita basis, the City & County of Honolulu has the sixth highest transit ridership in the country. This is quite an accomplishment for a City without a rail system. The City is working on a rail system which is presently in the design phase. TheBus serves the entire Island of Oahu and its population of about 905,266 residents and approximately 100,000 daily visitors. TheBus staff reflects Hawaii’s rainbow multi-ethnic culture. An ethnic profile of the employees, largely mirror Hawaii’s rainbow population. Approximately 90 percent of employees are members of recognized minority groups. There are more native Hawaiians and Samoans than the general population and less individuals of Japanese or Caucasian ancestry. There is also a significant representation of Portuguese, Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Puerto Rican and African-American employees. The organization has made a conscious effort to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture. Since 1992, the employee population had progressed from no women in supervisory positions, to the present day, in which 25 percent of senior managers are women. At the present rate, TheBus will possibly see an increase to 35 percent women managers within the next five years and ultimately a 50-50 gender balance among management staff may be achieved. Currently women comprise about 25 percent of TheBus and TheHandi-Van bus operators. TheBus is important to Hawaii’s substantial visitor industry. An average of 25,000 visitors, use TheBus on a daily basis. The Hawaii Visitor and Convention Bureau (HVCB) figures indicate that 47% of Japanese visitors and 21% of Mainland visitors ride TheBus sometime while in Hawaii. Fully 85% of visitors who do take TheBus while on vacation rate the service as having exceeded their expectations. TheBus makes spontaneous, safe travel away from Waikiki easy and helps to distinguish Waikiki from competing resort destinations without good public transportation. TheBus’ fleet of vehicles includes ten hybrid-electric, high-capacity articulated buses, which use 30% less fuel than conventional diesel buses. Within the year 40 additional hybrid-electric buses will be added to the fleet and will soon make this one of the largest fleets of hybrid-buses in the country. The maintenance staff is continually taking steps to improve fuel efficiency, reduce harmful emissions into the environment and increase equipment longevity. They utilize modern computer controlled engines to squeeze the most efficiency out of a gallon of fuel while reducing emission. Recently, they have begun a nitrogen tire inflation program for City buses and hope to realize another half-million dollars in fuel savings.

Address: 811 Middle Street, Honolulu, HI 96819
Telephone: (808) 848-5555
Website: http://www.thebus.org/