Honolulu to Sound the Horn on Essential Workers

The City and County of Honolulu’s TheBus and TheHandi-Van will be participating in the nationwide “Sound the Horn” campaign, to show support for essential public transportation workers across the United States. The campaign is organized through the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York City and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to recognize the importance of public transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), together with Amtrak, NJ Transit, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NYC Ferry and other regional bus and other regional bus and ferry operators today launched a coordinated day of action to simultaneously sound their fleets of train, bus and boat horns on April 16 to honor heroic transportation workers across the region. As a tribute to #HeroesMovingHeroes on the front lines of this public health crisis, all trains and buses running in service will give two one-second horn blasts in solidarity with partner agencies.

This commemorative moment will take place on Thursday at 9 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time (HST), and all TheBus and TheHandi-Van drivers are encouraged to honk their horns with our nation’s transit partners in support and solidarity. Riders are encouraged to use the #SoundTheHorn and #HeroesMovingHeroes on social media to hashtag the event.

“Our top-notch front-line transit workers truly are heroes moving heroes during this pandemic,” said Jon Nouchi, Deputy Director of the Cityʻs Department of Transportation Services (DTS). “Please join Mayor Kirk Caldwell and our valued transit employees in this moment as they sound their horns in Honolulu to honor transit workers nationwide.”

Roger Morton, President and General Manager of Oahu Transit Services says the entire OTS workforce appreciates this symbolic gesture. “We are all in this together and it truly is a case of ‘HeroesMovingHeroes.’ Even today, our frontline transit workers provide about 60,000 daily trips so residents can fulfill their essential roles. I salute all of our transit employees and take pride in the job they are doing during this crisis.”

DTS reminds all passengers to limit trips on TheBus and TheHandi-Van to essential trips only, and, starting Monday, April 20, protective face coverings will be required to ride TheBus or TheHandi-Van.