LIHUE — Officials from The Kauai Bus say they are facing staffing challenges as they expand morning and afternoon routes to reduce overcrowding during peak times of the day. So far this year, The Kauai Bus employees have racked up
LIHUE — Officials from The Kauai Bus say they are facing staffing challenges as they expand morning and afternoon routes to reduce overcrowding during peak times of the day.
So far this year, The Kauai Bus employees have racked up $78,231 in overtime costs — more than $10,000 over the $65,100 budgeted for overtime during the 2014-2015 fiscal year, which ends June 30.
At the same time, Kauai Bus officials plan to add service times to four routes, beginning March 17, to address the transportation provider’s growing passenger demand — one that has increased fourfold over the past eight years.
County of Kauai Transportation Agency Executive Celia Mahikoa said the ability to provide the new routes is a positive step for the transportation agency, which is heavily subsidized by federal and county funds.
“We’re honored to be able to provide (more routes), it’s just that we see the other side of it — the cost of it — as well, and it’s a challenge, especially when we’re going through budget time right now,” Mahikoa said during the county Cost Control Commission’s public meeting Monday.
Passenger ridership, according to The Kauai Bus figures, has soared over the years from 187,179 passenger trips in 2005 to 781,791 in 2013.
In fact, those figures show the only drop in transit use took place in 2010, when the number of passenger trips fell from 429,377 in 2009 to 408,619.
“I think people are seeing the value in using public transit and the large amount of money that they can save, if it works for them,” Mahikoa said.
Overtime paid to transportation agency employees is an issue that, Mahikoa said, stems from several factors, ranging from aging buses to staffing shortages.
As a part of the county’s collective bargaining agreements with some transportation agency employees, The Kauai Bus employees are given 21 vacation days and 21 sick leave days each year.
Covering those sick days can result in overtime pay.
Another factor that contributed to increased overtime pay was “an extremely delayed purchase” of 20 new buses to replenish the transportation agency’s aging fleet, Mahikoa said.
The delay, she explained, forced use of several buses “well beyond their service lives,” making it difficult, and costly, for mechanics to fix lingering problems.
“We’re anticipating that those costs will be coming down significantly now as far as our mechanics’ time because of the new vehicles that we are able to put into service,” Mahikoa said.
Transportation agency officials, she said, are currently reallocating funds within their budget to address the excess overtime pay.
To alleviate overcrowding on buses during peak hours, the county transportation agency was given $71,000 to provide additional service this fiscal year.
Those services, scheduled to roll out on March 17, will add new routes to key areas with high passenger volume during the early morning and late afternoon hours of the day.
“It’s wonderful,” Cost Control Commissioner Sandi Sterker said. “It shows there is a real need for the service.”
In addition to the new bus routes, another change that is scheduled to take effect next week pertains to Route 100.
On weekends and holidays, Route 100 will no longer turn into KCC, instead it will stop at the Kaumualii Highway bus stop across from the college.
