HONOLULU (KHON2) — Saturday marked a very busy day island-wide on Oahu, with various events such as the No Kings Protest, the Pride festival, the Holoholo festival and usual Saturday activities.
But luckily, the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services designated this weekend as Fare Free weekend, where riders of TheBus, TheHandiVan and the new and improved Skyline could enjoy free rides.
“I want everyone to know that their money is worth it, their time is worth it, and the billions of dollars we spent, was worth it!” said Gurley Matsuura, an enthusiastic rider. “So everyone, ride the rail!”
The fare-free weekend, combined with all the different events going on in Oahu, made it a very busy day across the skyline stations, and with it came a lot of different reactions from riders, both first-time and returning.
“I saw a lot of people on the train, it should boost their ridership, I would think, because people are getting the chance to see how convenient it really is,” said Terry Moore, who has ridden the rail before but was just returning from his longest trip yet. “My wife rides the train every day, she takes it down to Mapunapuna, and it’s very convenient for her.”
Moore and his wife believe that, given the chance to ride the rail for free, this could show people its fullest potential, who were just trying it out for the first time.
“It just so happens that we were going for lunch, and then somebody said it was a free ride (on the Skyline),” said Gloria Rombaoa, a first-time rider. “Might as well go back and forth for the whole day!”
And other long-time riders of the rail found that the fare-free weekend was an advantage to them as well, and reaffirmed that their experience using the rail has been positive, and hope that others would see it the same way.
“My experience has been positive. I love the rail,” said Megan Heidenescher, “I’ve also been taking the bus my whole life.”
“It’s really good, it’s free with a HOLO card, and it’s a free two-day ride,” said George Warnock, who uses the rail to get to work, and planned to use it to get to the Pride Festival. “So everyone should get their HOLO card and go on the rail.”
But for some, the definition of “Fare Free” wasn’t all that they believed it to be.
“I just came down looking forward to riding the rail for the first time, and it was just to my surprise and a little frustrating upon realizing there was a fee,” said Gil, another first-time rider.
That fee was the $2 fee required to purchase the HOLO card that gets you through the gates. The DTS encourages the public to purchase the card before arriving at the station at one of the various locations available, including 7/11, ABC stores, and Times.
But if you already have a card, or if you choose to purchase one, you can continue to enjoy free rides on the Skyline through Sunday.