The mayor has also refused to implement immediate traffic relief measures for West Oahu which could be done simply by greatly increasing the number of express commuter buses during peak traffic hours.

These express buses use the Zipper Lane on H-1 highway/Nimitz Highway, and HOV lanes on H1- and H-2 highways. To allow unobstructed express bus travel during peak hours, the city could also declare the Express Buses as "semi-emergency" vehicles equipped with flashing lights to indicate to vehicles close ahead to move to the side during peak hour traffic. The flashing lights are to be discreetly used only during peak hours.

The rail system proposed by the mayor will cost $9.0 Billion over the 15 + years for rail to be completed but Rail will still not provide traffic relief on H-1, which is the primary and most important reason for a mass transit system.

A lower-cost, traffic relieving, superior long-term alternative to Rail Mass transit is the Managed Lane or High Occupancy Toll (HOT ) (I prefer the more descriptive term "Express Busway") as outlined by University of Hawaii Civil and Traffic Engineer Professor Panos Prevedouros study " Transportation Alternatives Analysis for Mitigating Traffic Congestion between Leeward Oahu and Honolulu", released in March 2008. The professor was assisted by 16 Traffic Engineering undergraduate and graduate students and microcomputers prepared Hawaii's largest-ever simulation study of five different congestion relief alternatives.

Basically, Express Busway is a system where a commuter gets on the morning express buses from all major community bus transit centers at Waianae/Makaha, Kapolei/Kalaeloa, Makakilo, Mililani, Haleiwa, Waipahu, Waipio, Pearl City, Aiea, plus 4 to 10 other centers) destined for his/her destination at Pearl Harbor,/Hickam, Airport, Kalihi, Downtown Honolulu and beyond to U.H. Manoa or Ala Moana or Waikiki without transferring even once.

A comparison of Express Busway and Mass Transit Heavy Rail:

COST

Rail -$6.0 + Billion (9 Billion inflated over 15 + years to complete Rail)

Express Busway - Less than $900 million. (Tampa Built similar elevated three-lane 10 mile Bus Expressway for $320 million in 2005)

LENGTH OF NEW ELEVATED FIXED GUIDEWAY

Rail - 30 miles. Kapolei, Farrington Hwy to Waipahu, Kamehameha Hwy to Aiea, Salt Lake Blvd, Mapunapuna, Dillingham, Nimitz, Halekawila, Kapiolani, Kona (Ala Moana Shopping Center), Kapiolani, Kalakaua, Kuhio (Waikiki); Kapiolani, University Ave.(U.H. Manoa). Add Airport Spur.

Express Busway - 10 Miles. Over Kamehameha Hwy median (H-1/H-2 Merge to Pearl Harbor), alongside H-1 Viaduct (mauka) to Keehi Lagoon, over Nimitz Hwy median to Iwilei with a bus only elevated lane to Hotel Street and a non-bus underpass from Nimitz Hwy to Alakea Street. Use King and Beretania (couplet) on grade.

TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Rail - Will not provide traffic relief on H-1 before, during and after Rail is completed.

Express Busway - Will reduce congestion on H-1 by 35 percent ( mass transit most important purpose ).

STATIONS

Rail - Will have 34 rail stations.

Express Busway - Zero bus stations.

RAIL STOPS

Rail - Minimum 19 rail stops outside of Honolulu which will delay commuter travel. No rail express will be available.

Express Busway - Zero bus stops between community transit center and destination at Pearl Harbor/Hickam/Airport or downtown Honolulu.

TRANSFERS

Rail - At least two transfers, home to bus to rail to another bus in town)

Express Busway - None. Bus will travel directly from community to destination.

TRAVEL TIME

Rail - will not reduce travel time due to required transfers (bus to rail to bus).

Express Busway - reduce travel time by 34 percent in automobile and bus travel times along the Leeward Corridor from current levels.

BYPASS ROAD

Rail - Railway not available for highway vehicular bypass due to major accident on H-1

Express Busway - Reversible highway available for vehicles 24/7.

LAND ACQUISITION

Rail - Much acquisition needed for Rail stations, vehicular parking lots and rail yards. Many private, occupied parcels will need condemnation, resulting in many lawsuits.

Express Busway - Land required for busyard in Kapolei.

FUNDING

Rail - GET taxes plus property tax will increase to fund rail. Fed fund unlikely because Feds recently cut rail funds for $5.0 Billion Rail project Wash. DC to Dulles Airport.

Express Busway - Funded by Feds (50 percent ) and Tolls or GET (50 percent).

Rail will be an environmental blight on Honolulu. Elevated tracks will be ugly, running through downtown and eventually Waikiki, defacing our beautiful city and damaging our tourist industry.

Rail is noisy, 4 a.m. - midnight every day, even when running empty.

Rail is slow, averaging 25 mph. There are no express trains.

Rail will use funds normally earmarked for bus system, thereby degrading the excellent city bus system on Oahu.

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT RAIL TRANSIT

Light-rail line under construction or in planning stages today costs.

$25 million per mile ($50 million per mile in both directions). Heavy rail costs more. See http://www.americandreamcoalition.org/ADCFS1.pdf - Similar pages

''TRAIN TRANSFERS AND WAITING TIMES:

Transit studies have shown that people hate to transfer and wait. Rail riders would have to transfer many times and stand around waiting on their daily round-trip, which would typically need 20 total daily segments:

From home, go to a bus stop

wait for the bus

ride a bus to the rail

walk to the platform

wait for train

ride the rail making many stops,

walk from the rail to another bus stop,

wait, ride a bus,

walk to work;

same problems coming home.

Even if we grant that some commuters can walk to work from the end station, they still require 14 daily segments.

Now add to this mix the 8 new r/t segments for an airport worker on the newly-proposed spur:

• 1. Get off one train

• 2. Walk to connecting train

• 3. Wait for train (up to 15 minutes wait)

• 4) RIde train. Same in reverse. We are now up to 28 daily transportation segments. They must think the public are complete idiots to accept this plan. On the other hand, express bus riders do not need many segments: Travel to a regional bus station, wait, ride non-stop to destination, walk to work. 4 components, same coming home.

Rail Capacity Myth

A single rail line can carry as many people as an 8-lane freeway.

The Reality

No rail system outside of New York City carries as many people as one freeway lane. Outside of New York, the most heavily used heavy-rail lines carry less than two-thirds of a freeway lane.

The Congestion Myth

Rail transit can greatly reduce congestion.

The Reality: Outside of New York and few other cities, rail transit carries too few people to noticeably reduce congestion.

The Rush-Hour Myth

Rail transit can cost effectively reduce rush-hour congestion.

The Reality: While a few rail transit lines may have a marginal effect on rush hour congestion, the cost is exorbitant.

The Operating Cost Myth:

Rails cost less to operate than buses.

The Reality: Almost all rail transit systems cost more to operate than buses running on routes in comparable corridors.

The Speed Myth:

Rail Transit is fast.

The Reality: Rail transit speeds rarely compete with autos. Express buses can go faster than most rail transit.

The Eternity Myth

Pay no attention to the high construction costs because once rail lines are built, they will last forever.

The Reality: Rail lines must be rebuilt and equipment replaced every twenty to thirty years. Reconstruction often costs as much as the original construction.

The Under Budget Myth

Most rail lines are built under budget and carry more riders than anticipated.

The Reality: U.S. Rail transit construction has gone an average of 41 percent over budget.

The Redevelopment Myth

Rail transit leads to economic development.

The Reality: Rail transit rarely generates any additional development.

The Choice Myth:

Rail transit gives people choices.

The Reality: Government officials should be more concerned about spending taxpayer dollars wisely than giving people needlessly expensive choices.

WHY MOST CITY MAYORS (INCL. HONOLULU) LIKE RAIL: FOLLOW THE MONEY

Rail transit projects produce more Requests for Proposals (RFPs) than do the far simpler highways projects. RFPs result in non-bid awards for both planners and rail equipment vendors. It is a breeding ground for overly generous campaign contributions even when operated legally. Highways projects are subject to competitive bidding.

• 1. Developers need land rezoned for housing so they can build homes but there is mounting resistance from residents who face growing traffic congestion. To justify rezoning elected officials need to show voters that they have a plan in place to reduce traffic congestion. Officials believe a transit "Vision" will satisfy voters on this issue.

• 2. Construction union leaders' compensation varies with the size of its membership. The more construction workers, the more union dues collected and the more the union dues collected and the more the union leadership is compensated. They need to keep the jobs coming to both achieve this and keep the members happy. They will join with the developers to lobby for rezoning.
• 3. Transportation Consultants who want the non-bid planning work associated with transit projects. Since rail transit planning is very complex, millions of dollars will be spent on it. For example, the City spent $18 million dollars on planning for the now defunct Bus/Rapid Transit (BRT). The Harris campaign alone received $435,000 that we know of from non-bid consultants on this project. On the other hand, the HOT lanes option is a highway primarily for Express buses, van pools and high occupancy passenger cars. It will have no stations, no rolling stock, and no Requests for Proposals; highways are simple.

• 4. Rail equipment vendors who want to win the award of the rail transit project. They will usually have responded to a RFP for a turnkey operation. This will of necessity be a non-bid award and so elected officials will have a wide discretion over who gets the award.

Highway construction companies want the ability to bid on highway projects. However, highways are not complicated in their design and construction. Accordingly, the City and State put most highway work out to bid. This process is highly competitive and elected officials exercise little discretion over the outcome of bidding. Thus, no significant campaign contributions are involved. In addition, the simplicity of the process makes a highway project less costly and less time consuming to complete.

Elected officials are always concerned with their reelection prospects. Raising campaign funds and gaining union support are uppermost in their minds. Highways do not generate significant campaign contributions; rail transit generates a great deal. For this reason, elected officials usually prefer rail transit projects to highway projects.

In short, follow the money.

Ben Ramelb is a Registered Civil Engineer and Master Planner in Honolulu who can be reached at mailto:ramelbb001@hawaii.rr.com

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