This was to testify against some of the bus service cuts.
I have done more than enough blogging on the issue, but now it was time to actually say it in front of the people who can do something about the issue.
Because most of us are working, most of us don't have time to attend city council meetings, or even have time to find out when the next one will be.
But since I'm on summer break (which will end soon for me), I got the time to testify.
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The meeting was to start at 9am, though some of the city council members showed up AFTER the meeting had started.
How many of us can get away with showing up to our jobs late?
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The meeting started with going over a few resolutions over city officials accepting girfts, and on property taxation. Those things didn't take very long (thank God) because what everybody wanted to discuss was the bus service reductions.
First, transit director Wayne Yoshioka (who I've criticized in earlier blog posts) and the city budget director responded to questions from the City Council.
Most of the questions focused on the cuts in bus service for the North Shore and Windward Oahu. Yoshioka acknowledge that there were problems with the cuts in bus service and promised some adjustments in the future.
Then it was time for the average citizens to give testimony.
Some have discussed the hardships caused by the cuts in bus service already made for North Shore and Windward Oahu!
Another person criticized the cuts in the #14 bus service (which I went over in the blog post
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/07/bus-service-cuts-hurt-disabled.html.)
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Then it was My Turn to testify!
I was glad Wayne Yoshioka was still in the room, because I could say my thoughts right in front of him, instead of just hiding behind my blog
I mentioned that Yoshioka was earlier reported to have said that the reduced bus service wasn't going to be restored because "rail is the future". I mentioned the rail wasn't going to serve the North Shore, Windward Oahu or East Honolulu. I then acknowledged that Yoshioka was starting to be more flexible on the issue according what he said earlier in the meeting
Then I went to the meat of my testimony. I testified AGAINST the change in the #4 bus routes. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, and I have mentioned at this morning's meeting.
It went something like this (this isn't word-for-word)
The #4 route (which zig-zags from Nuuanu,downtown, Makiki, UH-Manoa, Mo'ili'ili, and Waikiki) there have been plans to ELIMINATE SERVICE going from UH-Manoa to Waikiki!
I'm going to testify against those cuts in services
The #4 buses going from Waikiki to UH are MEGA-CROWDED in the mornings! Many of them are exchange students who live in student-oriented apartments in Waikiki!
As for the UH students who live on campus, those students go to Waikiki on Friday and Saturday nights.
And in some of those occassions, the #4 bus gets MEGA-CROWDED.
For example - Halloween! Waikiki is where the action is on Halloween! That's where all the college students want to be on Halloween night!
and I know from experience that the #4 bus gets EXTREMELY CROWDED on Halloween, it's so bad that the #4 bus can't even pick up any extra riders after it leaves University/Metcalf bus stop! And those bus stops after University/Metcalf are FILLED with TONS of people who are ANGRY that they waited so long for a bus, and the bus doesn't stop for them because IT'S CROWDED AS HELL!
Then I briefly mentioned the hardships that the #14 bus service cuts will give to the Arc, a community service organization that assists the developmentally disabled. ( again, check out http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/07/bus-service-cuts-hurt-disabled.html)
Then I was done.
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The City Council gave the average citizen 1 Minute time limit, and they had a timer that goes off after the 1 minute!
I went slighty above 1 minute!
Look, I understand why they give us time limits. Otherwise, one person could just take all day to talk, while everyone will get impatient and not have their turn to talk!
But I think a 1 minute time limit is WAY TOO SHORT!
Other people at the meeting had even more to say than I did, and wanted to bring up some serious concerns (ie. the safety of the long-buses going over the Pali, the hardships many North Shore residents face with longer waits at the bus stop, the increased hitch-hiking going on in the North Shore due to the bus service cuts, etc) and 1 minute is not enough time!
The City Council gave Mr Yoshioka a lot more than 1 minute to talk.
They should start giving the average citizen at least 5 minutes to vent on the issues!
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I sticked around to listen to more testimony after I was done. Then about a 1/2 half later, I just left the meeting since I have other things to do.
But yeah, it was a good experience to testify at the City Council meeting.
If you got the time, give it a shot! It's good to tell the powers how you feel, right where they can hear you!
