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| Federal Support |
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KGMB's Tina Chau reports on how the Honolulu Rail Transit Project can move to the next phase per the green light by the Federal Transit Administration and its consultant.
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Fed's Study Say Oahu Transit Project Reasonable -- Study Projects System to Cost $100 Million More
City officials report that a federal study found that Honolulu's rail transit project has a realistic price tag.
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The Obama Administration's Federal Transit Administrator, Peter Rogoff, supports the Honolulu rail project.
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| On the air |
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APTA President Bill Millar and Phoenix Valley Metro CEO Rick Simonetta answer Mike’s hard-hitting questions on his Community Matters show on June 28, 2009.
Listen Now.
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KHNL News-8's Duane Shimogawa reports "Rail plan catches friction from Kamehameha Schools"
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In his Sunrise "Howzit Howard" blog, KGMB9 Business Reporter Howard Dicus discusses "Is it a new attempt to derail rail?"
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Oahu's transit planners have applied best practices from around the world. A 2005 trip to Japan proved fruitful, watch Lisa Kubota's summary.
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| Elevated Discussion |
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Dan Doyle of Vancouver SkyTrain considered elevated rail the best alternative for Honolulu. Read his comments to the Star Bulletin.
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Read why the Honolulu Star-Bulletin believes the Honolulu Rail Transit route should be above ground.
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In his blog, KGMB9 Business Reporter Howard Dicus shares his thoughts regarding elevated rail and his previous experiences with rail systems on the Mainland.
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| Draft EIS Bodes Well for Transit |
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November 2, 2008
By U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye
This week, O'ahu voters will decide on whether to move forward with a proposed rail transit system, a project I wholeheartedly support. Rail transit can improve the quality of life for residents across O'ahu by reducing traffic congestion, preserving our natural environment, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and bringing jobs and economic vitality to our communities.
This project speaks to the unique island spirit of kokua — our responsibility to provide for the well-being of our entire community.
But we must also understand that there is no free ride. These benefits come with costs and impacts that are identified, analyzed and compared in the draft environmental impact statement being released to the public this weekend. Completion of the draft EIS is an important milestone in both the project's progress and as part of an ongoing process intended to solicit and address concerns.
On the issue of cost — in current dollars, it will take about $3.9 billion to build a 20-mile system that runs from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center, with 19 stations along the route. This is an increase from the initial estimate, but these costs are reasonable when one considers adjustments for inflation, and the fact that preliminary project plans have been refined and are much more detailed.
In an abundance of prudence, the project budget includes nearly $1 billion as a contingency to absorb just such cost increases. They were anticipated and accounted for in the budget.
The federal government has reviewed the financial plan and deemed it sound. Independent, respected organizations and individuals in our community also endorse the project and generally agree with financial projections, including the Hawai'i Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i.
It is regrettable that approximately 35 residences and businesses will face relocation, and will have to give way for the project. The project budget includes ample resources to provide fair economic compensation to impacted landowners. The project will assist in relocating residents; no one will be left without a home.
All of this must be balanced with the benefits of a rail transit system that is reliable, energy efficient and will shrink traffic congestion by at least 21 percent as it matures. About 34,000 cars will be taken off our congested roads and highways daily, and nearly 90,000 passenger trips will be made on the train each weekday.
More importantly, people who ride the train will know each and every time how long it will take to get to work, school or home, and the time savings will be tremendous. That means more time for family, for recreation, for worship — a myriad of pursuits more worthwhile than sitting in traffic.
Building this system will create 11,000 new jobs and foster a healthy economy, for construction workers, shopkeepers, restaurant owners and more. It will bring federal dollars into our state at a time when one of the mainstays of Hawai'i's economy, the visitor industry, suffers in the global economic slowdown. And, like other cities nationwide, a rail system will foster smart growth, transit-oriented development, which enables us to create livable communities shaped by the people who live there.
Concerns have been expressed about how the economic downturn will affect federal funding.
Make no mistake — there will be federal funding. Your Hawai'i congressional delegation is fully committed to bringing the full force of our collective legislative powers to make this project a reality.
We do not want to repeat what happened in 1992, when Honolulu walked away from nearly $618 million in secured federal funds. Had we possessed the needed political will then, we would be enjoying a full-fledged rail transit system today, one that would probably be serving the entire island.
While it is important to learn from past mistakes, my hope is that this is an action we collectively take for the future — for the generations of children to come who deserve an island home where they can live, work and raise their families free from the grind of constant traffic gridlock.
We are an island community with a generosity of spirit that enables us to put aside our differences to help one another. It is time for us to reach out to families on O'ahu's west side. For too long, they have borne the burdens that allow residents of Windward and East O'ahu to live in the relative luxury of open space. They deserve consideration and relief.
Moving forward with rail transit isn't just about transportation. It's about having the will and the strength today, to make the right choices for tomorrow.
Daniel K. Inouye is Hawai'i's senior U.S. senator. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.
Originally published in The Honolulu Advertiser.
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| Integrated Bus-Rail System is Best Answer |
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By Roger Morton, president and general manager of O'ahu Transit Services Inc.
More buses are not the best solution to our island's growing traffic congestion. A modern steel fixed-guideway rail system is.
Don't get me wrong. We have a great bus system in Honolulu. Currently, TheBus accommodates about 230,000 daily boarding trips, and ridership is growing as gas prices increase. According to Federal Transit Administration data, the per-capita transit-riding rate on O'ahu is about 100 trips per person per year, making Honolulu the fourth-highest ranked transit city in America. This makes Hono-lulu a transit town.
As president of O'ahu Transit Services (TheBus and TheHandi-Van) and a career transit professional, I am proud of TheBus and the great job our dedicated employees are doing. But I am also a strong supporter of a high-capacity rail system that will form the backbone of a well-integrated bus/rail transit system.
Despite what some are saying, adding substantially more buses to Downtown streets is not a good idea. During peak times, we operate a bus every 30 seconds at the King-Liliha junction and about every 45 seconds along Kuhio Avenue. In Central Hono-lulu we have few through roads, and our Downtown and Waikiki streets are already at capacity and cannot accommodate increased numbers of buses.
Increasing our fleet by 50 percent, as some have suggested, would result in a nonstop ribbon of buses along our major streets and further slow traffic.
Buses are also not without impact. An accelerating bus is louder than a modern rail system, emits greenhouse gases, and uses increasingly costly and scarce petroleum products.
Operating a larger bus fleet would also be more costly than operating an integrated bus/rail system. Across the country, the cost per passenger mile for rail is about half the cost of buses. The difference is even greater in cities with a high utilization of buses.
The fact is that our Honolulu bus system has a higher utilization per vehicle than any other major bus fleet in cities across the U.S. And as traffic congestion increases, our trip times get longer and our costs go up. Today, our service runs 10 percent slower than it did 20 years ago.
Increased traffic also makes it hard for TheBus to offer reliable service. We work hard to keep our buses on time despite unpredictable traffic. Many times we must turn buses back short or divert bus trips just to cope with existing traffic congestion. Turning a bus back short or adjusting a trip inconveniences some passengers. But we must if we want our buses to run on-time for the majority.
Even with all this effort, we have a severe problem with on-time reliability. We will lose customers unless we can offer reliable service. A backbone rail system will result in greater reliability for riders and will lead to greater ridership.
As gas prices increase, our bus system is approaching realistic capacity at peak hours when most customers want to ride. Today, we average about 25 to 35 times per day when drivers report that they are leaving passengers behind because the bus is completely full. Often times, it's an articulated bus with a higher seating capacity. Our system needs the higher capacity that a rail system can offer.
Buses will always play an important role in any transit system. But rubber-tired vehicles, whether guided or not, must use the same Downtown streets as buses.
Such a system is not a high-capacity solution for our future. A modern grade-separated steel-wheeled system promises the best performance and the lowest risk of the available technologies. The best way for us to improve our bus system is to develop an integrated bus-rail system that works for commuters, students, our elderly, our disabled citizens and our visitors. It's the best and the most cost-effective alternative.
That's why I support a high-capacity rail system.
Originally published in The Honolulu Advertiser.
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