Bus system will serve city better than rail | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Bus system will serve city better than rail | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Friday, August 25, 2006

COMMENTARY
Bus system will serve city better than rail

By Richard Sullivan

Is TheBus the way to go for transit problems on O'ahu? Buses cost less than rail cars, and busways are also less costly than rail.

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Honolulu faces one of the most important decisions in its 100-year history: How will substantial numbers of our residents move back and forth across O'ahu each day for employment, education, shopping and recreation?

Just about everyone knows constructing freeways to accommodate more vehicles is no longer a viable mass transit option because of rising fuel and land costs. So we are exploring mass transit routes and modes that better suit Honolulu's demographics and its geography.

While similar 'ewa-diamondhead systems are being considered, there is an emerging bias, championed by Mayor Mufi Hannemann, for a light-rail system. However, light rail is not an appropriate mass transit option for Honolulu.

Light-rail transit's oft-cited poster child is San Diego's system. I am familiar with this system's evolution because San Diego was my home for 23 years before I moved to Hawai'i, and I still have strong ties to that city.

That system was initially viable because the first segment's entire right of way, connecting downtown and the Mexican border, was purchased for just $1 million. A substantial portion of San Diego's low-income population is along this route and had poor bus service. That guaranteed high ridership from the beginning. Building on the system's initial success, subsequent routes extended from downtown to outlying communities.

Honolulu is not San Diego. It's not Portland. What made those cities' light-rail systems successful does not work here. Those cities' systems radiate out in multiple directions from central urban cores. Honolulu is a linear city with the main urban area spread out along O'ahu's south coast. A single-route system is contemplated and appropriate.

Portland and San Diego populations served by light rail are several times larger than the Honolulu population that would be served by a light-rail system. A light-rail system in Honolulu will cost more per potential rider and could cost substantially more than the systems in Portland or San Diego.

If light rail isn't a viable rapid-transit option, what is?

TheBus. Yes, the unexciting, ordinary bus system, but with dedicated busways (no autos allowed) linking Wai'anae to Hawai'i Kai. Consider:

Buses cost much less than rail cars and can be replaced as new propulsion technology, such as hybrid or fuel cell systems, become available. Buses can even be electrified from overhead lines. San Francisco has had such buses for decades.

The City and County of Honolulu already owns a bus fleet with maintenance facilities and trained personnel. A rail system requires an entire new set of rolling stock, maintenance infrastructure and expertise that does not currently exist in the community.

A busway is less costly than rail because buses can negotiate tighter turns and steeper inclines, making routing choices more flexible. Right-of-way acquisition costs potentially would be lower, and guideway design would be simpler.

Buses can operate on a dedicated guideway for high-speed, high-passenger-volume routes but still operate on surface streets with the same rolling stock. Light rail can only operate on its own dedicated right of way.

Distances involved are much shorter than those of cities with light-rail systems. Point-to-point speed achievable with light rail cannot be realized in Honolulu's transit environment.

Buses are more responsive to rider demand than light rail. It is easy to reassign buses in response to demand and optimize service in response to population shifts. With light rail, we are stuck with one mode and one route that can only be changed at great expense.

Finally, the present bus system has served Honolulu's population well. I do not have access to specific statistics but have a hunch Honolulu's bus ridership is significantly higher than for most U.S. cities.

Curitiba, Brazil, arguably one of the world's most forward-thinking cities, went through an assessment years ago and concluded dedicated busways were the most viable mass transportation mode. Curitiba developed stations with platforms so riders could board and disembark without stepping up or down. Handicap ramps and lifts at stations accommodate the disabled, relieving the need for buses with lifts and kneeling capability.

Before we spend billions of dollars on a light-rail system of dubious efficacy, let's take another look at an asset we already have and determine if our bus system can be developed into a viable rapid-transit system for Honolulu.

Richard Sullivan is a St. Louis Heights resident and a construction administrator. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.

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