Rail

... another $365 million is expected to be released by DOT as HART continues to meet the milestones outlined in the grant agreement ....

... Now that the rail has opened, what are the top three indicators that proved you were right? ....

... This is the biggest contract for the Honolulu rail project let to date, but as expensive as it is, this doesn’t include all of the costs of planning, engineering, and design of the line ....

... The second most-read article is “Why we left Hawaii” ....

... $360M above projections before they turn a shovel ....

... as of Monday, July 1, 2024, Bikeshare Hawaiʻi has turned over its oversight role of the Biki bikeshare system to DTS ....

... if HART awards the City Center Guideway and Stations contract, expected later this year, an additional $250 million will be burned ....

... and an interactive Skyline tour, showcasing that Earth Day is for everyone ....

... Cliff Slater’s Tour de Force ....

... Skyline’s average daily ridership since opening in July is 3,100 ....

... In previous decades, City streets were planned and designed primarily for vehicular capacity, not any longer! ....

... convicted felon to gain even more control over Hawaii CIP projects .... 

... Considering the record of the old Aloha Stadium, there are many questions ....

... Natalie Iwasa, who was appointed by state Speaker of the House Scott Saiki, has been barred from participating in executive sessions ....

... the highest per-passenger operating cost of any light-rail systems in the nation ....

... Ridership on the half-completed rail has been steadily falling, causing the per-passenger taxpayer subsidy to go even higher ....

... the highest per-passenger cost among light-rail systems in the nation — by far ....

... 4,000 is a little short of the number that HART projected it would attract once the system is completed: 84,000 people a day ....

... “Taxpayers are already paying an enormous amount to build the project, but now are paying even more to run it nearly empty” ....

... $13B / 3,666 avg daily riders = $3.5M per rider  We could have bought each rider a house near their job and a Cadillac or two to put in the garage -- and still saved billions ....

... DO THE MATH: $13B / 1,245 = $10.4M per passenger  -- slightly more than a Bugatti Centodieci ....

... a list of political careers derailed by rail ....

... a complete visual map of TheBus and Rail system ....

... a new consequence seems to have emerged: The city recently saw its bond rating downgraded ....

... how Hawai'i can reduce the costs and the improve service quality of its various mass transportation systems ....

... The debt burden has recently been rising due to GOULT bonds issued for construction of the rapid transit system ....

... the ninth voting member will be selected by the other eight voting members ....

...  A contractor will provide golf carts to take anyone needing assistance between the CONRAC and the airport lobby. ...

...The lie that tourists pay 30% of the GE Tax is front and center as Gov Green and legislators quickly walk back Green’s fake 2022 campaign promise to eliminate the GE Tax from food and medical care....

... “If my name sounds familiar it's because my dad was President of the Hawaii AFL-CIO and the Business Manager/ Financial Secretary for the Hawaii Carpenters Union Local 745 for over 20 years.”….

... “We had no idea this was in the works,” said Lori Kahikina, HART’s CEO and executive director ....

... Honolulu rail is not alone ....

... starting August 22 to August 26, 2022. The free fare week is timed with the back-to-school jam ....

... HART excuses are nearly Biblical: Plague, Frogs, Fires, and Cracks -- but the real reason slipped out as COVID shut down Hawaii's tourism industry: “After Wasting Billions to Build Rail, is it worth $160 million a year to operate?” ....

... Walk-in customers make up the majority of the 5,790 HOLO card transactions processed in the past fiscal year at the Ala Moana Satellite City Hall ....

... the state of Hawaii has released a report explaining why the rail project will fail no matter where it goes or how much it costs ....

... It was sold to the public on the promise that it would only cost about $4 billion, that it would be completed by 2019 and that the general excise tax surcharge associated with it would end by 2022 ....

...HART’s new plan appears to contain “overly optimistic assumptions about revenues, ridership and costs, and this could saddle local taxpayers with unstated liabilities in the future.”....

... The former chairman of the University of Hawaii’s civil engineering department says aloha ....

... The US$119 million contract is an extension of existing construction and engineering services Stantec is providing to HART and will run through the end of 2026, with the possibility of a 5-year extension to expected project completion in 2031 ....

... The vague language in the proposal lacks any metrics for measuring success, similar to another business-focused tax credit whose value to the state is dubious ...

... HART's recovery plan was shipped off to the FTA today with revenue projections that I think are too high ....

... Fat chance of the Feds giving us that much now ....

... the one thing we can rely on concerning the Honolulu rail project is the long list of unanswered questions ....

... HART now says it will cost $9.9 billion to not finish its rail project by 2031 ....

... Iwasa has valuable insights into the operations of the rail project because she also is a non-voting member of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation ....

... What do these three multi billion dollar failures have in common? ....

..."We submitted a Recovery Plan to the FTA, proposing to amend the Full Funding Grant Agreement" (not quite) ....

"...We submitted a Recovery Plan to the FTA, proposing to amend the Full Funding Grant Agreement to the following scope: 18.75 miles/19 stations through Downtown, to the Civic Center Station, which is 1.25 miles and 2 stations short of Ala Moana Center...."

... Mayor Blangiardi said, “Even though this was a very quick turn-around trip for me, the time I spent with the Administrator was well worth the trip" ....