Transportation officials have said before that a mass transit project most likely will not reduce congestion on O'ahu roadways. Even with development of a mass transit system, traffic congestion and delays on O'ahu's roadways are expected to increase dramatically in the next 25 years because of continuing growth, especially in the 'Ewa Plain area.

The transit project is designed to improve mobility, encourage patterns of smart growth and economic development, and offer an alternative to those who would rather not drive or cannot afford the cost of vehicle ownership and operation, officials said.

However, a report prepared for the scoping meetings suggests that a transit project will provide "faster, more reliable public transportation services in the corridor than those services currently operating in mixed-flow traffic."

Morning peak-period travel times from Kapolei to downtown average between 40 and 60 minutes, roughly equal to projected transit times. However, highway travel times — including those for a bus system that operates in mixed traffic — are projected to more than double by the year 2030, the report said.

Last week's meetings were designed to lay out the project in the broadest possible strokes, officials said. Those attending the meetings in Honolulu and Kapolei were told that planners are considering the need for a new transit system that will stretch from Kapolei to Manoa and possibly Waikiki. Options include enhanced bus service, a fixed rail system and a managed lane for buses, carpools and toll-paying vehicles.

"We're trying to choose the alternative that makes the most sense to the most number of people," said Toru Hamayasu, the city's chief engineer for transportation projects. City officials are soliciting comments on the plans so far through Jan. 6, and those comments will be compiled and made public early next year, he said.

The federally mandated meetings seemed to generate a deep mixture of optimism and skepticism among residents who have endured three failed attempts over the past 25 years to establish mass transit in Honolulu.

"It all sounds nice and shiny right now, but I want to find out how it's really going to work," said Jessica Lomaoang, an interior designer from 'Ewa Villages who spends up to three hours a day commuting to work in her car. "Everybody's going to make decisions on how convenient it's going to be for them. I would use it if it's not too expensive and there's a place to park."

No alternative is going to please everyone. Eventually, a single rail or bus line would have to be supplemented by better roads, increased bus service, park-and-ride facilities and even a ferry service if it is to be successful, officials said.

"No one expects a rail line to go to every part of the island and we wouldn't want that," Mayor Mufi Hannemann said. "If we do end up going with a rail option, buses are going to have to be a big part of it as feeder lines. We'll want those feeders to get people as close to the stations as possible."

Terry Slattery, who commutes from Kapolei each day by bus, said he'd be willing to give rail a try.

"If I could bank on it being there every day, I'd ride it. You can't count on the car or bus to get you there consistently on time. I think we have to be ready to take it to the next level," he said.

While residents have almost three weeks to continue commenting on the broad scope of the project, officials at Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, the firm hired to plan the project, are increasingly turning their attention to specific decisions about exactly what the new system would look like, where it would go and how much it would cost.

Between now and July, the planners will produce research reports on various technologies (buses, light rail, monorail and magnetic levitation), costs, financing, ridership, traffic and environmental impact. It's in those studies that the public's questions will start to be answered, officials said.

"We will start looking at the engineering of different alignments. We'll figure out what they cost, where the stations will be, where it will be elevated or at grade," said Mark Scheibe, project director for Parsons Brinckerhoff. "There will be differences among the technology, too, but they are not all that drastic. There are differences in the width each one needs and how noisy they are. That's the level of detail we'll be dealing with in the technical report."

Ultimately, the goal is to present a preferred alternative — one technology, one route — to the City Council for action in November, Hamayasu said. City officials hope to begin construction by 2009, have the first leg of a system operational by 2012 and finish the whole project by 2015.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.