Hawaii Free Press

Gasoline Consumption Drops Sharply

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 05 May 2013 01:57:00 GMT

If this pattern is sustained, then all climate initiatives need to be shelved... "2040 targets" are already met!

Want a Fine Electric Car? Not in Hawaii

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:50:00 GMT

...the true cost to own a base Tesla S in Hawaii is 17% more than California and 34% more than Colorado....

15 Years Without Global Warming

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:47:00 GMT

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Wind Power Down, Natural Gas Way Up

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:28:00 GMT

Even though total wind power capacity grew by 30 percent last year, with 13,000 megawatts in new wind turbines, the actual portion of our electricity coming from wind energy did not increase proportionally....

Could Repeal of the Jones Act Actually Happen?

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:25:00 GMT

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60 Minutes Video: China's 'Ghost Cities' -- Biggest Bubble Ever?

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:33:00 GMT

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Honolulu’s Poor Economic Growth and What to Do about It

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:03:00 GMT

Where does Honolulu rank among 300 cities? It ranks 284th for the 1993 to 2007 period, and 217th for the 2007 to 2011 period....

Sewer Gas Powers Cars

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 09:11:00 GMT

...poop from 70 homes can power VW Bug for 10,000 miles!

Where is Hawaii Transportation Headed?

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 09:06:00 GMT

Each EV that clocks about 50 miles per day consumes as much electricity as a modest house with 4 people....

Electric Rates Punish EVs

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:04:00 GMT

"...a 2011 Nissan Leaf that's a bargain to drive in Washington — $28.29 for 1,000 miles — is pricey in Hawaii, where those 1,000 miles would cost $97.21."

Panos: Energy from Trash Should Be a Priority for Hawaii

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 03:26:00 GMT

The long term economy of Waste to Energy (WtE) plants is very good....

Honolulu at the Bottom of Top 300 Cities

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:45:00 GMT

Global Metro Monitor update of the Brookings Institution. Yet another non-flattering economic statistic....

After 20 Years of Minimal Change, Minimal Growth What Should Hawaii Plan For?

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 07:11:00 GMT

Census data strongly suggests that Hawaii, and Oahu in particular, are stable communities with very mild growth....

Transportation and Energy Infrastructure Projects: Forecasting is Unnecessary

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 20:53:00 GMT

Why? Because transportation infrastructure deployment lags demand by decades....

Jones Act Hurts Hawaii (Alaska, Guam and Puerto Rico too)

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 20:48:00 GMT

By some estimates, Jones Act makes goods in Hawaii 33% more expensive than they could be....

Sea Level? Oahu Rising Two Feet Every 1000 Years

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 02:57:00 GMT

Oahu will grow taller thanks to strong volcanic forces that lift it up from the bottom of the ocean....

Green Energy and Rail Get an 'F'

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:08:00 GMT

... cutting wasteful projects is productive and necessary to avoid a nosedive....

Hawaii's Sudden Economic Tsunami

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 00:31:00 GMT

...the sudden loss of Senator Inouye would be similar to the sudden and complete loss of Hawaiian Airlines....

Honolulu Transit Megaprojects Compared

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 00:08:00 GMT

BRT would provide the same transit ridership for about one tenth the cost....

Bus Routes Terminated by Rail: B, C, E, 3, 9, 11, 20, 43, 53, 73, 81, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98A, 101, 102, 103, 201, 202

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:21:00 GMT

the No.1 transit bus in the nation will be dismantled and reconfigured to provide life support for the rail.

Panos: Caldwell Suffers from Windmill Deficiency

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 20:16:00 GMT

You might think that I am referring to some Don Quixotic syndrome. But their Wind Mill Deficiency is actually more real and its effects on society are seriously deleterious.

Island Heavy Rail Calamity: San Juan Repeats in Honolulu

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 03:35:00 GMT

Tren Urbano (or City Train) in San Juan, Puerto Rico is a perfect comparison with Honolulu's heavy rail....

Honolulu Rail Cost Escalation

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 07:44:00 GMT

Oahu has fewer than 400,000 taxpayers so the possibility of a twelve billion dollar bill for a long rail line presents a staggering liability. Over $30,000 per taxpayer....

Eliminate Bus Fares to Solve Traffic Woes?

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:22:00 GMT

The Transportation Research Board, a unit of the National Academy of Engineering has just released a report titled Implementation and Outcomes of Fare-Free Transit Systems....

New Lane Open on H-1 Freeway

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:11:00 GMT

New Lane on WB H-1 Freeway!

by Panos Prevedouros, FixOahu

Quietly, quickly and effectively the Hawaii State Department of Transportation (HDOT) has added a full lane of traffic on the west-bound H-1 Freeway from Punahou Street to Pali Highway.

The new lane starts as an extension to the existing auxiliary freeway lane between the Punahou Street on-ramp and the Lunalilo Street off-ramp like so:

The added lane continues onto the viaduct than now has four instead of three lanes! This is a whopping 25% to 30% capacity addition. Numerically it is a 33.3% gain but when a lane addition is effected by narrowing lanes and shoulders, some capacity loss does occur. As you see in these pictures, vehicles fit well on the narrower lanes and after multiple passes, I did not notice any slow downs because of the tighter lanes.

Now the critical Lunalilo Street on-ramp and Vineyard Boulevard off-ramp has five lanes instead of four, like so:

The fourth lane terminates smoothly as the Pali Highway off-ramp.

This lane addition is the result of many months of work at my University of Hawaii Traffic and Transportation Lab, the R. M. Towill Corporation, the Planning, Traffic and Design section of HDOT and others.

Cudos to HDOT for doing it! I look forward to the similar lane addition on the east-bound side.

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LINK: KITV Traffic Cam

New Transit Bill Re-Classifies BRT as 'Fixed Guideway'

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 09:17:00 GMT

The recently passed 2-year transportation act of Congress which was signed by the president contains these golden nuggets for Honolulu....

Panos Schools Caldwell on Rail, BRT

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:28:00 GMT

Dr. Prevedouros addresses questions posed by Candidate Caldwell....

The Seven Rules of Bureaucracy

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 02:14:00 GMT

...politicians of all colors and persuasions have used these one time or another....

ECONOMY Survey -- The Economist and Hawaii Results

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:39:00 GMT

...a mini-series of Hawaii answers to surveys on major issues which have been debated at The Economist.....

Panos Drops Out of 2012 Mayoral Campaign

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:31:00 GMT

"I would like you to be the first to know that I do not plan to run for Mayor of Honolulu in 2012."

APEC: Sopogy, Traffic and other Embarrassments

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 07:04:00 GMT

...SOPOGY at APEC's "See It" Exhibit at the Hawaii Convention Center. What an embarrassment! Not only they are not making energy at a cost effective rate they are a technological dead end as well given the 2011 dive in photovoltaic pricing....

Panos: Honolulu Heavy Rail Is an Energy Black Hole

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:53:00 GMT

Rail will consume about 20 MW of energy which is about 20% of the capacity of HECO’s new palm oil plant. Unfortunately peak rail travel coincides with peak demand for electricity around 6 PM....

Panos: Is Sopogy Hawaii’s Solyndra?

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 04:25:00 GMT

President Obama has tried to spin yet another one half billion dollar mistake but his own green friends won't let him: Solyndra bankruptcy was a disaster waiting to happen. Neil has been informed multiple times about Sopogy. What’s he going to do about it?

Panos: Did Mishandling Cause the Death and Injuries of HPD Officers?

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 07:31:00 GMT

Perhaps the very unfortunate and deadly crash on Farrington Highway on the night of Tuesday, September 13, 2011 will serve as a major wake up call for HPD accident scene handling and investigation.

Panos: For about six billion dollars you can choose between Plan A and Plan B

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:18:00 GMT

Building the Interstate Highway System created many construction jobs, but it would be a huge mistake to interpret that employment as the system’s contribution to the economy. Workers who drew salaries from the construction program benefitted, but far less than the travelers and shippers of goods who have used those facilities every day for six decades.

Trains Helped Kill the Greek Economy – They’ll Kill Hawaii’s too

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:05:00 GMT

“Some years back a Greek finance minister, fed up with his country's waste and extravagance claimed that he could save money by shutting down the national railway and driving around its passengers in taxis.”

Big Projects in Hawaii - Why Are They Stuck?

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:06:00 GMT

There are 10 basic dimensions that account for the reasons that big projects succeed or fail....

Renewable Energy and Hybrid Cars Still Only at 1%

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:39:00 GMT

Despite governmental mandates for renewables, if their electricity production is converted to equivalent tons of oil, then their share is only 1.3% in 2010....

Panos announces plans for 2012 Mayoral Race

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:03:00 GMT

In 2010 we garnered 19% of the vote after having a vibrant campaign with less than $100,000 for advertising. But if each of our 38,439 voters had contributed ten bucks we would have had the funds for competitive advertising ....

Hawaii PUC Stats show Windfarms cause Blackouts

Panos Prevedouros PhD — Sun, 22 May 2011 22:11:00 GMT

HELCO reported that 20,660 customer interruptions (16% of all interruptions) were related to Independent Power Producer (non-HELCO Generation) sources. In 2009 Hamakua Energy Partners (HEP) and Pakini Nui Windfarm were the non-HELCO generation sources that caused customer interruptions.