The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Honolulu City Council Committee on Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology on Nov. 19, 2025.
_____________
Nov. 19, 2025, 9 a.m.
Honolulu Hale
To: Honolulu City Council Committee on Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology
Radiant Cordero, Chair
Val Okimoto, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: Bill 42 (2025), CD1 — RELATING TO TAXICABS
Aloha Chair Cordero, Vice Chair Okimoto and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Bill 42 (2025), CD1, which would abolish the city’s rate-setting regulations for taxicabs and require the city Department of Customer Services within five years of the bill’s passage to submit “recommendations regarding the repeal, modification or extension” of the rate deregulation.
Current rules dictate that anyone operating a taxicab cannot charge more than the price prescribed by the department. These maximum rates often do not keep up with changes in inflation or the general cost of doing business in Hawaii. For example, the maximum rates did not change between 2013 and 2023, whereas inflation increased by roughly 30% nationwide.[1]
Additionally, Bill 42 (2025), CD1 would place taxicabs on the same playing field as transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft, which are not subject to city price controls.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
__________
[1] “CPI Inflation Calculator,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed May 27, 2025.
