This document summarizes the history of rail transit planning in Honolulu from Frank Fasi's proposed heavy rail system in the 1990s to the current driverless metro system being built by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART). It discusses the various proposals for light rail, bus rapid transit, and metro-light rail under different city administrations. It also compares Honolulu's rail project to the successful driverless metro system in Copenhagen, Denmark, noting their similar operating speeds, frequencies, and fully automated trains without drivers. Ridership numbers for TheBus and Copenhagen Metro are also presented, showing higher ridership for the metro system.

1. HONOLULU AUTHORITY FOR RAPID TRANSIT (HART)
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS
LinkedIn SlideShare November 18, 2017
https://www.slideshare.net/cliftonmhasegawa/honolulu-authority-for-rapid-transit-hart-the-hard-reality-when-all-else-fails
THE SEQUEL
TELL THE TRUTH
Frank Fasi tried several times, and in 1992 came close to
making it happen. The Federal Transit Administration had
agreed to provide nearly one-third of the $2 billion estimated
cost. But things fell apart when a 5-4 majority of City Council
members refused to raise taxes needed to fund it.4 Fasi
avoided the term heavy rail, but that’s how rail experts would
have described his proposed system. When describing a rail
system, the terms heavy and light are not primarily about
weight. Light rail systems operate in or across city streets,
while heavy rail systems run overhead or below ground,
powered by a third rail.
Fasi’s successor, Jeremy Harris, expressed some interest in
heavy rail, but turned his attention to light rail, which the
governor at that time, Ben Cayetano, endorsed. Cayetano
explained to reporters that his opposition to rail on Oahu
applied only to heavy rail.
Harris’s light-rail proposal eventually morphed into bus rapid
transit, which is like light rail but uses rubber tires on
pavement rather than steel wheels on steel rails. One of
Cayetano’s last ofcial acts as governor was to approve an
Environmental Impact Statement that rated bus rapid transit
as superior to rail – for Honolulu.
Muf Hannemann made abrupt changes immediately after
succeeding Harris.

2. The just- declared superior alternative for Honolulu, bus rapid
transit, did not even make the list of fnalists: Hannemann’s
alternatives analysis considered three versions of elevated,
steel-on- steel rail, each of which ft into a new category
called metro-light. Like heavy rail, metro-light runs overhead
or underground. But like light rail, metro-light has less
carrying capacity than does a traditional heavy rail system.
One mainland commentator has described metro-light as “a
hybrid form of rail that [combines] the cost disadvantages of
heavy rail with the capacity limits of light rail.”
City ofcials sometimes mischaracterized Hannemann’s
proposed metro-light system as light rail, which might have
caused some citizens to picture something less expensive, less
noisy, and less imposing than Hannemann had in mind.
Even if one were to ignore the entire cost overrun, the per-
capita cost of Honolulu’s rail system would still be
dramatically higher than that of any other city. Part of the
reason is the high cost of building elevated rail on Oahu,
particularly from Chinatown to Ala Moana Center. The rest
of the explanation is our relatively low population: No city the
size of Honolulu has ever tried to build a rail system. The
next smallest metropolitan area with heavy rail has a
population four times larger than Honolulu’s.
"The capital cost is way too high, and the
expected ridership is way too low," said Dan
Chatman, associate professor of city and regional
planning at the University of California,
Berkeley. "It's pretty simple."
Source: The Future of Rail on Oahu: Plan A, B, or C? By
Randall W. Roth [Excerpt; Citations Omitted]
http://randallroth.com/fles/Rail%20Speech.pdf

3. Light Rail : it is one which needs low capital cost and high reliability, the rails could
be laid separately or could be laid on the roadways also as if the train is not there we
could use it as a normal road. The speed is quite low 30kmh [18.64114 mph]
Metro Rail : It is a type of high capacity transport system, like others it also runs on
electricity. These rails run on fyovers, underground as a multi purpose system and has
the highest passenger capacity in terms of speed of transport. Its average speed is
70kmh [43.49598mph] but in some areas it reaches 90kmh [55.92341mph]
[Emphasis and Clarifcation Supplied]
Source: Quora What is the diference between light metro, metro, and monorail? By Sia Varun,
September 22, 2016, accessed November 19, 2017 https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-
difference-between-light-metro-metro-and-monorail
Honolulu Rail Transit Project Update
Andrew Robbins, Executive Director & CEO
October 24, 2017
http://www.westoahu.org/resources/Documents/Andrew%20Robbins%20-%20HART.pdf
How fast will trains travel? 55 mph top speed & 30 mph average speed,
including train stops
Honolulu Rail Transit Tests Rail Cars
Published on Oct 22, 2017
HART & Ansaldo HNL are testing rail cars at maximum operational speeds of 55mph.
Testing will continue for the next several months
RUNNING AT 56.52 MPH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wmzy9qrN-Q

4. HART to begin live train, energized track testing for rail project
KHON2, September 4, 2017
http://khon2.com/2017/09/04/hart-to-begin-live-train-energized-track-testing-for-rail-project/
When the trains start rolling, they will be tested for their
acceleration up to 55 mph, and then for their braking ability
under varying conditions.
Operators will be on board during that time, but once the
system is complete, the trains will be fully automated and
driver-less.
Honolulu Is Building America's First Fully Driverless Transit System
By Amy Crawford. City Lab. September 17, 2014, accessed November 19, 2017
https://www.citylab.com/life/2014/09/honolulu-is-building-americas-frst-fully-driverless-transit-system/380292/
Honolulu's system is modeled on the Copenhagen Metro, which has been
operating since 2002 and won "best subway" at the international MetroRail
conference in 2008 Grabauskas [Dan Grabauskas, executive director and CEO
of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART)] reports "a
tremendous amount of interest" in Honolulu's system among his mainland U.S.
colleagues.
"The driverless operation we have is going to be very safe."
It should also be more reliable. Eliminating the unpredictability of human
drivers will help trains stick to their schedules, and consistent acceleration and
deceleration means they can safely run closer together. Over the course of a
20-hour daily schedule, system managers will also be able to increase the
frequency of service in response to demand, without having to call in
additional personnel. "We can make pretty nimble service changes,"
Grabauskas says, "almost literally with the press of a button. Driverless systems
ofer tremendous advantages."
[Clarifcation Supplied]

5. The Honolulu Rail Project - Based on the Copenhagen Driverless Metro System
Ansaldo JV – A Hitachi Group Joint Venture [Excerpts]
Accessed November 19, 2017
http://www.ansaldohonolulu.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5
Copenhagen is a growing capital and has been reviewing future trafc plans
accordingly. [Population of 1.99 million in 2017]
In 1996, Copenhagen chose the most sophisticated metro system yet seen in
Europe, when the contract was signed with Ansaldo STS) for a driverless transit
system across and under the city.
The Copenhagen Metro originally opened in 2002. The two lines feature 22
stations and take you from the Copenhagen Airport, across the city center and
into the densely populated suburbs, crossing areas of new urban development.
Copenhagen has been the frst city in the world that introduced the Hitachi Rail
Italy’s driverless metro. Brescia the frst city in Italy. The other cities that
introduced this technological jewel are Milan, Italy, Rome, Italy and Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, Honolulu, Hawaii [Population of 1.43 million] in 2017.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The public transportation in Copenhagen is very reliable, punctual, and it takes
you everywere. In Copenhagen the trains, Metro and busses (including
waterbuses) can be accessed with the same ticket. All you need to know is how
many zones you will pass on your journey. Note the Metro will take you from
the airport to central Copenhagen in only 20 minutes.
Buses
The A-buses are the primary buses in central Copenhagen. They drive every 3-
7 minutes during rush hour (which is between 07:00-09:00 in the morning and
15:30-17:30 in the afternoon) and usually about every 10 minutes before and
after rush hour. The A-buses serve at all hours.
The S-buses drive every 5-10 minutes during rush hour and every 20 minutes
outside of rush hour. The S-buses are faster than the A-busses due to fewer
stops. They usually serve between 06:00 in the morning and 01:00 at night.
Night buses are in service between 01:00 and 05:00 in the night. You can
recognise the bus stops by the grey colour of the bus stop signs.

6. Metro
The metro is in service all day and all night, every day of the week.
There are 2-4 minutes between each train during rush hour, and 3-6 minutes
outside rush hour and during the weekends. Friday and Saturday night (after
01:00) trains arrive with a 7-15 minutes interval and a 20 minutes interval after
midnight on weekdays (Sunday through Thursday).
Trains
The S-trains run between 05:00 in the morning and 00:30 at night. Line F runs
every 4-5 minutes, line A, B, C and E run every 10 minutes, and line H and Bx
run every 20 minutes.
Source: VISITCOPENHAGEN. http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/transportation/public-transport
RIDERSHIP
Copenhagen Metro
Record-high passenger numbers 2015 was a record year for the metroʼs
passenger numbers since it opened in 2002. More than 57.2 million people
took the metro in 2015, which is 1.2 million more than in 2014. This implies
that in 2015 the metro on average had 100,000 more passengers per month,
compared to 2014. Operations could be normalised as planned in the second
half of 2015, but now with more trains and improved operational stability. As
a consequence, the metro generally achieved higher passenger numbers during
the rest of the year. In November, a new passenger record was set, when no
less than 5.2 million passengers took the metro, with operational stability
ending at a record-high 98.8 per cent.
Source: Metro Service A/S http://intl.m.dk/#!/search?q=annual%20reports
TheBus
TheBus is privately managed by Oahu Transit Services Inc., which operates the system
under a public-private partnership with the City and County of Honolulu Department of
Transportation Services

7. TheBus Total Monthly Ridership
September 2017
5,435,893
September 2016
5,547,475
September 2015
5,728,587
September 2014
6,087,573
Peter Rogof, Formerly FTA Administrator
Currently Chief Executive Ofcer of Sound Transit
Address to the Boston Reserve Bank
May 18, 2010; Updated: Wednesday, March 16, 2016
http://randallroth.com/fles/Administrator%20Peter%20Rogof%20Remarks%20at%20the
%20Boston%20Reserve%20Bank%20updated%20to%20March%202016.pdf
Increasingly, I have become convinced that the solutions to these problems are
not about engineering. They are not just about economics.
• They are about honesty;
• They are about the necessity to tell truth to power
• They are about the necessity for political guts – the guts to tell it like it is –
the guts to say “no” when everyone around the table wants you to say yes.
• They are about the need to rethink the questions we ask of ourselves. And
insisting on asking them, again and again.
If we really care about what we leave to our grandchildren, we will each use
this summit to strengthen our resolve to do just that. And keep doing it –
because this problem isn’t going to be solved over just a few budget cycles or
even over one generation.

8. In the end, while we often like to sugarcoat it, these decisions we make are
truly moral decisions. Moral decisions about who we serve with scarce
resources. Moral decisions about whether we leave the next general manager,
the next Chief Engineer, the next bus driver, a system that is stressed even
further or is on the path to wellness.
Moral decisions about whether we direct scarce resources to transit riders that
might otherwise drive their car vs. transit riders who will have no choice but
endure the service we give them, not matter how troubled.
What do I mean by honesty?
Share some simple truths that folks don’t want to hear.
One is this -- Paint is cheap Riders often want rail – but you can entice diehard
rail riders onto a “special” bus, sometimes by just painting the bus a diferent
color than the rest of the feet. Busways are cheap. You can get a designated
lane just by painting it. And with signal preemption, you can move a lot of
people at very little cost compared to rail.
Earlier I pointed out that our new estimate for the deferred maintenance
backlog for the entire transit universe is roughly $78 billion. But you should
know that fully 75 percent of that fgure is for the replacement of rail assets.
Now remember that the majority of transit trips taken in America are still done
by bus. In fact, Americans take 21 percent more bus trips than rail trips.
But when it comes to the need to replace transit assets, the costs associated
with replacing rail assets eats up three quarters of the entire backlog.
Agencies deciding between bus and rail investments need to stare those
numbers in the face. It’s one thing to pay the cost diferential now. They
need to be mindful of the costs they are teeing up for future generations. Is
Bus Rapid Transit a workable option for every corridor – no. But it’s a fne ft
for more communities than are seriously considering it.
Another simple truth -- by ignoring deteriorating conditions at our transit
systems, we run the very real risk of losing riders.

9. The Obama Administration wants to grow transit ridership. It is wholly
consistent with the President’s goals to lower greenhouse gas emissions and
reduce our dependence on foreign oil. But we can’t achieve our goals while
ignoring the state of good repair. Transit riders – especially those that are not
transit dependent – will only put up with so much. There is a point where dirty
stations, unreliable service, slowed train speeds, inoperable escalators, and
worries about safety push riders back on the highway. Ironically, every study
ever conducted will show that, from a safety perspective, passengers are far
safer riding even our most fragile transit systems than driving on the highway.
But that doesn’t necessarily infuence the choices commuters make.
What do I mean by guts to say no?
I’m now concluding my frst year as Administrator. I meet with a great many
transit general managers. While these meetings are all diferent, they often
follow a certain pattern.
I start of the meeting by asking how things are going. They express gratitude
for the new Recovery Act funds but then go on to explain that the downturn in
municipal revenues, the downturn in sales tax receipts, the cutbacks in the city
and state levels, has necessitated service cuts. Sometimes we talk about serious
service cuts of 20 percent or more.
We talk about:
• route reductions
• layofs
• furloughs
• signifcant chunks of capital reinvestment being difered as they use Federal
capital dollars for preventive maintenance to close operating gaps.
It’s all very grim. But then we get to the second part of the meeting. The
consultants start to get excitable and the glossy brochures come out. And the
next thing you know, the general manager wants to talk about their new plans
for expansion -- the spanking new rail service to communities not yet served.

10. In fairness, many of these new communities have been waiting for a long time
to get rail service. Indeed, many were promised rail service as part of a sales
tax referendum that was passed a decade ago. The other communities got
service – but now those are more expensive than originally forecast – and the
sales tax is taking in far less than expected.
At times like these, we need to ask the hard question: if you can’t aford to
operate the system you have, why does it make sense for us to partner in your
expansion?
Are we not helping you dig a deeper hole for our children and our
grandchildren?]
These ARE moral questions.
Should we count on the economy coming back. Yes we must. And indeed, the
economy is coming back. But what will be required of us when it does. We
were already at record ridership when the economy started to contract. While
ridership has dipped with employment, we can expect it to come back to new
record levels when the economy fully recovers. So what pressures does that
put on our struggling systems.
I was recently talking to a friend in the freight rail industry. He told me that
one of the benefts of slower trafc on their main lines was that it gave them
the opportunity to reinvest and do some major restoration projects without
being so disruptive to their freight trafc. Well how many of our transit
agencies had a similar opportunity? How many systems actually had access to
enough money to seriously reinvest in the midst of a recession? There is no
question that the Recovery Act helped, but our transit agencies will still
struggle to handle the trafc that will come with a recovered economy.
When I said earlier that one of the solutions is to tell it like it is – that includes
the uncomfortable situation of calling someone out when their behavior isn’t
responsible.

11. My favorite example is the Douglas Branch of the Blue Line in Chicago. It
actually passed FTA’s funding test for a brand new rail line. Why, because it
was so slow and decrepid – it was allowed to deteriorate to such a state, its
restoration brought so many new riders – saving as much as 30 minutes over
current rail service over the identical route – the identical stations. Just the
absence of slow orders was the game changer.
But the question has to be asked, how was it allowed to just rot on the vine?
Where were the policymakers at all levels that allowed conditions to deteriorate
so.
When it comes to calling out the truth – let me praise Governor Patrick for
requesting the D'allesandro study. Tells a stark picture of what needs to be
done here in Boston.
Success will require us all to wake up those that want to stay asleep.