Spring 2001 – City council appropriates $1.8 million for use of "smart cards or similar technology to replace the current bus pass." Electronic readers deduct the value for each bus trip and riders can re-charge smart cards by purchasing more value.

August 12, 2002 – City signs a professional services contract for $232,000 with Booz Allen and Hamilton Inc. The company will design, develop the specifications and provide guidance about bid evaluation and selection for the smart card project.

October 16, 2002 – City Transportation Director Cheryl Soon sends a memo to other top city officials, saying: "The Mayor asked that we fast-track this project and target July 1, 2003 as the implementation date."

November 26, 2002 – Informational meetings held with major smart card providers that might bid on the project. The city tells the companies the target price is $2.2 million.

December 3, 2002 – City Transportation Director Cheryl Soon sends a memo to Acting Budget Director Ivan Lui-Kwan, asking him to approve a shorter-than-normal response time for interested smart card providers. Soon asks for a "request for proposals" to be issued on December 14, 2002 and a response deadline of just two weeks later, on December 20, 2002, because the project is being "fast-tracked."

January 8, 2003 – Three companies submit smart card proposals to the city. Cubic Transportation Systems claims to be the world’s largest electronic ticket vendor, with bus smart card systems in Atlanta, San Diego and Los Angeles. ERG Transit Systems is the vendor for smart card operations in Seattle and San Francisco. And Royal Contracting, a Honolulu construction company, has no experience in transit systems.

February 4, 2003 – Royal Contracting submits its best and final offer of $2.1 million for smart card project. While it has no transit experience, Royal says its "familiarity with the process in Hawaii will be a benefit to continued success in the implementation and liase with the city." It notes that two sub-contractors with experience in high-tech bus fare systems will perform the technical work.

February 13, 2003 – City evaluation panel chooses Royal Contracting over Cubic Transportation Systems. Royal's proposal was $2.1 million, about half as much as Cubic's price of $4.3 million. A third company, ERG Transit Systems, was disqualified because it failed to submit a bid bond as specified

June 12, 2003 – Royal Contracting gets a performance bond for $870,000 from St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company to guarantee its work on the smart card project. The project had been delayed because the bonding company initially balked at giving Royal a bond, since Royal had no experience in bus projects, according to city officials.

July 7, 2003 – City issues a "notice to proceed" to Royal Contracting Company for the smart card system. Original city timetables called for the system to be fully operational by July of 2003.

August 12, 2003 – KITV 4 News reports Royal Contracting is awarded smart card contract with no experience in the bus business. City defends the award, saying the company's subcontractors have high-tech bus experience. City predicts system testing to begin at the end of September 2003, and full implementation by January or February 2004, six months after the original timetable. Royal's Vice President, Leonard Leong, is under investigation by the Campaign Spending Commission for allegedly making illegal contributions to the campaign of Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris.

August 13, 2003 – In a follow-up story, KITV 4 News reports that officials familiar with the project complain it is being "rushed" into operation without enough funding or planning. KITV 4 News found Honolulu's $2.2 million dollar price tag may be unrealistic, compared to smart card systems in other cities. Houston, which has nearly three times as many buses as Honolulu, spent four times as much on its system: $8 million. Recently-awarded contracts in San Francisco for $8 million and Seattle for $64 million dwarf Honolulu's cost, but have much larger and more complicated systems.

August 26, 2003 – Unionized employees at The Bus go on strike, shutting down Oahu's city bus system. Strikers from Teamsters Local 996 include drivers, mechanics and dispatchers.

Early September 2003 – Prosecutors issue a criminal complaint against Royal Contracting Vice President Leonard Leong, charging him with making illegal contributions to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign. Leong is a member of the unpaid Honolulu Police Commission, and recently completed a term as chairman.

September 29, 2003 – The Bus resumes service after the bus workers’ union and the city agree to settle a strike that began Aug. 26.

November 4, 2003 – Leonard Leong pleads no contest to a misdemeanor offense – making a false-name contribution to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign. Leong is fined $1,000.

November 5, 2003 – Six members of the Honolulu Police Commission call on Leong to resign because his admission of making an illegal political donation could "affect the integrity of the commission."

November 10, 2003 – Leong resigns from the Honolulu Police Commission, on the same day the Campaign Spending Commission fines his company $20,000 for making illegal donations to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign.

December 1, 2003 – KITV 4 News begins asking the City Transportation Department and a city spokeswoman for an update on the smart card timetable, noting that no testing or training has begun.

December 5, 2003 – City’s smart card steering committee meets, and as a result, contractor begins "preparing a revised project schedule." Contract will be amended to extend the contract completion date, but the cost does not increase.

January 14, 2004 – City responds to KITV 4 News questions from December 1st, blaming the month-long bus workers' strike for further delays in starting the smart card system. City now says the system won’t be fully installed and working until July or August of 2004, one year after it was supposed to be ready.

Sources: City memos, contract documents, interviews, KITV 4 News archives.