Hawaii looks at raising student bus fares

From The Honolulu Star-Advertiser: The Hawaii Department of Education is proposing to increase the cost of school bus fares to $1.25 one way, from 75 cents. The increased fares are designed to cover rising costs for student transportation. Under the new fare schedule, quarterly and annual passes would also go up. The cost of a quarterly pass would rise by $12, to $72. An annual pass would cost $270, from $225. The department noted that most students opt for quarterly or annual passes, and so would see relatively small increases under the new fare schedule. In addition, of the 37,000 public school students statewide that ride school buses, about 54 percent pay nothing because they come from low-income households.