DaBus is DaBest

TheBus is the public transportation service on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. TheBus has a ridership of approximately 72 million boardings annually on its fleet of 531 buses, providing daily service on 107 routes. TheBus is privately managed by Oahu Transit Services Inc., which operates the system under a public-private partnership with the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services.

Once known as "Uncle Fasi's Limousine Service" TheBus is one of the top transportation services in the United States. TheBus features low rates and wide access coverage throughout the City and County of Honolulu. It holds popular means for getting around the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

TheBus' origins trace back to its early days as The Honolulu Rapid Transit and Land Company, which operated buses and trolley lines mostly in the Honolulu district, while most of the outlying areas were serviced by competing bus companies. HRT was founded on June 6, 1898, the same date and year that Hawaii was annexed by the United States, and would start streetcar operations in Honolulu in 1901. Honolulu Rapid Transit operated streetcars from 1901-1941, motor buses continually from 1925 onward, and trolley buses from 1937-1957. During its tenure, the HRT Boards were part of the power structure that dominated Hawaii politics and industry for the next 50 years and were related to practically every other important business in Hawaii by either kinship or interlocking directorates. It would also see other issues that caused its downfall in later years, which included a series of strikes by union workers and reports of a hostile takeover of the company by its then new owner Harry Weinberg in 1955 after he began buying up other properties in Hawaii.

By the 1960s, it became evident that the City & County of Honolulu, being affected by HRT's operation/management structure and constant strikes that at times left passengers without bus service for as long as 60+ days (most notably a 67-day strike in 1967, followed four years later by a 60-day strike in 1970), would look at acquiring HRT and its competitors as more cities in the United States were taking over operations of privately owned bus companies. So on September 14, 1970, and under the guidance of then-Mayor of Honolulu Frank Fasi, the city established Mass Transit Lines (MTL) Limited, a management firm and forerunner to The Oahu Transit Services, to oversee operations. After careful negotiations the city would purchase HRT for $2 million for a down payment along with an additional $1 million to buy new buses. Fasi later went to Dallas, Texas and bought 50 ex-Dallas Transit System 1964-built GM air-conditioned New Looks, followed by adding 17 new New Looks from GM's Pontiac, Michigan plant, after his visit there. On February 25, 1971, the city council officially approved a contract for MTL to take over operations, and on March 1 of the same year HRT was renamed TheBus.

After its transition from HRT to TheBus, MTL decided to give the system a more friendlier modification, where in addition to changing the paint scheme in 1973, it also relaxed the standard uniforms by replacing them with the current short-sleeve shirts featuring TheBus logo, buses, and slogans. Fasi introduced the "new-identity apparel" in 1974, hoping to change the bus' stodgy, old image to a fresher, more fun one that would help lure more drivers out of their cars. These uniforms, which are updated every 2-3 years, have also known to become collectors' items.

The success of TheBus and its business model has been well-received by the public, the visitors, and of course, the transit industry itself. Ridership for TheBus has grown from 30 million passengers per year to approximately 72 million. TheBus is now the 20th most utilized transit system in the country, the 13th most utilized bus fleet, and the sixth highest transit ridership in the country per-capita. TheBus also has the lowest cost per passenger mile of any system and one of the lowest cost per boarding passengers in the industry.

Since its inception, 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. In addition, TheBus' has received other accolades and awards for its long-standing tradition of providing customers and visitors a well-efficient bus operation, its commitment to Honolulu and its strive to improving service islandwide.

article resource: wikipedia

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