HONOLULU — Some recently issued HOLO cards have a manufacturer defect that renders them unable to be registered online, the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services announced on Thursday.

What You Need To Know

  • The affected cards will not be usable after Friday night

  • DTS said the defect is present in fewer than 100 cards

  • The department is encouraging all HOLO cardholders to register their card at holocard.net or by calling 808-768-HOLO (4656) if they have not already done so

  • Last year, HOLO card and HOLO operations were temporarily suspended due to a shutdown of servers and online services at Oahu Transit Services, which operates TheBus and TheHandivan

The affected cards will not be usable after Friday night.

DTS said the defect is present in fewer than 100 cards.

The department is encouraging all HOLO cardholders to register their card at holocard.net or by calling 808-768-HOLO (4656) if they have not already done so. If the card cannot be registered online, it may be one of the defective cards and will be eligible for replacement via HOLO customer service.

HOLO cards are used to pay fares on TheBus and will be the primary payment method for rail. Registering a HOLO card enables its full functions, including auto-load, theft protection, transfer of funds from a lost or stolen card, and linking and managing HOLO cards within a family.

This is the second significant HOLO card problem to arise in as many years.

Last year, HOLO card and HOLO operations were temporarily suspended due to a shutdown of servers and online services at Oahu Transit Services, which operates TheBus and TheHandivan. 

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.