Transportation Equity
Getting where you need to go should not be a barrier to opportunity.
Put people over pavement.
All residents — regardless of age, race, ethnicity, ability, or income — should be able to navigate our islands safely using modes that build healthier individuals and communities: walking, rolling, biking, and riding transit. Yet our transportation system continues to prioritize cars over people, directing resources toward expanding vehicle capacity while sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit go underfunded.
For many of our residents, this is not just a minor inconvenience. It is a daily barrier and a matter of equity.
Transportation connects us to jobs, school, health care, and each other. When that connection is unsafe, unaffordable, inaccessible, or simply absent, opportunity shrinks. Keiki lose independence. Lower-income households spend an outsized share of their budget on car payments, gas, and parking. And those who cannot drive — whether due to age, disability, or income — are left behind entirely. Our transportation equity work centers the experiences of communities most affected by an inequitable system.
Free access for those who can’t drive.
Keiki Ride Free — year-round, fare-free youth transit for everyone 18 and under. Fare-free programs increase ridership, lower household costs, and reconnect young people to school, work, recreation, and each other.
Make every crossing safer.
Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) and Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) are low-cost, proven solutions used by cities worldwide — and almost entirely absent in Hawaiʻi. Required installation at state intersections saves lives.
Stop tying shelter to car storage.
Parking mandates inflate housing costs by adding $55,000+ per unit for podium parking in urban Honolulu. Eliminating mandates is one of the most proven ways to lower housing costs — and gives residents real choices beyond car ownership.
Free bus rides for every keiki 18 and under.
A car-centric system has casualties
The cost of a system built for cars is paid most heavily by those who can’t or don’t drive — keiki, kūpuna, people with disabilities, and lower-income residents. These are the communities most affected when sidewalks are absent, transit is sparse, and enforcement falls disproportionately on pedestrians.
Keiki without cars
Largest non-driver group
Young people are the largest demographic of non-drivers — transit is their direct connection to school, work, recreation, and friends.
Keiki Ride Free is the unlockPedestrians & cyclists
43% of traffic deaths
Signalized intersections are among the most dangerous places — yet low-cost solutions like LPIs and APS are almost entirely absent here.
Fatalities are on the risePeople who walk
349 cited per 100K residents
Hawaiʻi issues jaywalking tickets at 58× the rate of Washington state — disproportionately impacting the lower-income, kūpuna, keiki, and disabled residents who walk out of necessity.
A cycle of debt, not safetyRenters & buyers
+$55K per unit
Parking mandates tie shelter costs to car storage. Podium parking in urban Honolulu adds over $55,000 to each new unit — pricing families out of homes.
Mandates make housing scarcerMove, walk safely, reform
Five transportation-equity priorities, grouped into three areas where Hawaiʻi can expand access, protect vulnerable road users, and shift away from car-centric development.
Recent state transportation funding put 66.3% toward expanding road capacity and 1.5% toward walking, biking, and transit — a balance we have a real opportunity to shift, together.
Move
Young people are the largest demographic of non-drivers, and lower-income households spend the largest share of their budget on transportation. Fare-free programs in cities across the country have increased ridership, boosted local economies, and lowered emissions — while reconnecting people to jobs, school, and each other.
- Keiki Ride Free Establish a year-round, fare-free youth transit program for individuals 18 and under across the state. Fare-free transit lowers household costs, increases youth access to education and recreation, and reduces emissions and congestion.
“I missed three job interviews because the bus came every hour. If it came every fifteen minutes, I’d still be working at that company.” — Honolulu jobseeker
Walk Safely
Pedestrian fatalities are on the rise, and signalized intersections are among the most dangerous places for people walking, biking, and rolling. Low-cost solutions used worldwide are almost entirely absent in Hawaiʻi. Meanwhile, jaywalking enforcement falls disproportionately on the people who walk out of necessity — without making streets any safer.
- Fund pedestrian head-start upgrades Require the installation of Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) and Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) at state-owned intersections. These low-cost improvements reduce pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries while making crossings inclusive for people with disabilities.
- Reduce pedestrian fines Decrease jaywalking fines to end the cycle of debt imposed on pedestrians — a policy that disproportionately impacts people who depend on walking and does little to improve safety. Six other states and cities have already decriminalized jaywalking.
“My daughter wants to bike to school. I won’t let her until there’s a protected lane. So I drive her. That’s an extra car on the road we don’t want.” — Kāneʻohe parent
Reform
Outdated parking mandates tie the cost of shelter to the storage of cars — making housing scarcer and more expensive. Honolulu’s Ordinance 20-41 already eliminated mandates in transit-oriented districts, and the early data is striking: rental projects there now average just 0.75 parking spaces per unit. Pair this reform with transparency in traffic enforcement to surface the biases that shape who gets stopped.
- Eliminate or reduce parking mandates Reduce the amount of parking counties can require on new development — statewide, in urban districts, and in TOD areas. Eliminating costly parking mandates is one of the most proven ways to lower housing costs and give residents choices beyond car ownership.
- Standardize police data collection Require police to collect socio-demographic data for all traffic stops and provide yearly reports. Transparency reveals biases in local policing and is the foundation for any meaningful enforcement reform.
“Selling the second car was the biggest raise our family ever got. But it only works because we live close to the rail.” — ʻAiea family
Our Impact
Litigation to win language access, and a growing slate of 2023-and-beyond campaigns to expand transit, protect pedestrians, reform parking mandates, and bring transparency to traffic enforcement.
Won language access on driver’s license tests
Sued to force the state to provide language translation on driver’s license forms and tests. The litigation opened the path to driving and the economic opportunity that comes with it for thousands of residents with limited English proficiency.
Launching Keiki Ride Free & pedestrian safety upgrades
Leading the fight to establish Keiki Ride Free — a year-round, fare-free youth transit program across the state — and to fund pedestrian head-start upgrades (Leading Pedestrian Intervals and Accessible Pedestrian Signals) at dangerous intersections.
Reforming parking mandates statewide
Advocating for the elimination or reduction of parking mandates to make housing more affordable and give residents choices beyond car ownership. Building on the early results of Honolulu’s Ordinance 20-41 — which eliminated mandates in transit-oriented areas and is already producing projects at 0.75 spaces per unit.
Equity in traffic enforcement
Championing policies to reduce pedestrian fines and standardize police data collection to increase transparency and reduce bias in traffic enforcement. Hawaiʻi issues jaywalking tickets at 349 per 100,000 residents — nearly 60× Washington state’s rate — with no demonstrated safety benefit.
Research & News
Reports from our Transportation Equity team, plus news coverage and analysis from around Hawaiʻi.
Help us build a Hawaiʻi where everyone can move.
How we move through our communities reflects who we value. Sign up for email alerts on transportation-equity bills moving at the Capitol, read our latest research, or reach out to your legislator — every voice helps build safer streets and a system that works for everyone.