HONOLULU — Honolulu’s new rail transit system was heavily used during its introductory period of free ridership, but numbers dropped significantly when paid rides began, Hawaii News Now reports.
Some 71,722 passengers rode the Skyline automated light rail system from its debut on June 30 through July 4, including 18,108 on Independence Day, according to a Honolulu press release.
But on July 5, the first day with single-ride fares of $3 (and a cap of $7.50 per day for those using fare cards), ridership dropped to 1,245. The city and county’s Department of Transportation Services has estimated average weekday ridership will be between 8,000 and 10,000 after a full year of service.
Skyline has opened with a 10.75-mile, nine-station segment of what is planned as an 18.9-mile, 19-station system [see “Honolulu rail system to debut …,” Trains News Wire, June 30, 2023]. A second segment is under construction. Hawaii News Now reports that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation will open bids next summer on the final 4-mile segment, with CEO Lori Kahikina says she is also asking bidders to offer an estimate to build to the Ala Moana Center, which was planned as the southeastern terminus of a 22-mile system before the route was cut back because of costs.
Skyline operates from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
Hoolulu is no longer the paradise it once was. Think South Side Chicago with palm trees.
Honolulu!
Color me surprised. First days revenue might have covered the cost of the employees wages and an inch or two of the cost of the rail.
I very very much doubt the first day’s revenue covered that much.
Like anything else, when something is free or there are giveaways people naturally are going to see what it is, try it out and out of curiosity sample it. A number of months ago here in Orlando on a weekend when there were three different events going on SunRail offered free rides for the entire day which was a Saturday and the trains were packed and in most cases standing room only and of course that was only while the events were taking place and on a Saturday when trains don’t normally run . But this proved one thing If you want ridership to grow and people to use public transit you have to make it attractive and covenient enough for people to wanf and use it. That includes better hours of operation and moderate fares as well. The Honolulu system is doomed to failure if they don’t change hours of operation and have affordable fares. You don’t operate any transit system be it rail or bus up to 7am and shut down for the evening. We have the same issue here in Orlando SunRail don’t operate on weekends or major holidays and the public bus system Lynx shuts down around 10pm for the evening and on Sundays at 8pm and that includes the only bus line linking Orlando Intl Airport with downtown Orlando. Imagine one of the busiest airports in the nation not having any public transit options linking it with downtown Orlando. I would guess that few people use the bus anyway. Orlando like Honolulu is centered around auto traffic and highways just like Honolulu also. Hawaiians have been driving cars for years with little to no public transit and tourists aren’t going to use this new light rail system much either. For them it is easier to rent a car or use ride share services to get around or visit the sights of Honolulu and Oahu. For all the money spent on this project and years of delay and political shenanigans this will be another public boondoggle down the drain and one that taxpayers will be paying off for yearsto come and the biggest part of the rail network has yet to be built or opened wheneverand if ever that happens
Joseph C. Markfelder
Oh, the times a lifetime ago I rode the New York subway or Boston’s Red Line at whatever hour in whatever condition of fatigue or alcohol consumption. My understanding is that one or the other or both (New York and Boston) have dropped overnight service. They certainly don’t shut down at 7:00 PM.
Detroit which is all bus has dropped overnight service. Around 1970 I met a Detroit man who worked nights at Chrysler Corporation’s Hamtramck Assembly (f/k/a “Dodge Main”). He got home in the middle of the night on TWO buses, making a transfer. The way the bus sytem is now, you’d be lucky to make it in broad daylight.
I suspect the initial high ridership was the curiosity element. The locals have seen and endured its construction for years. Now they finally had a chance to ride it. It appears most of them treated it as an amusement park park ride. Once ridden, will they return? How many tourists will use it?
The portion of the system currently operating literally runs through farm fields, so it’s not surprising initial ridership is so low, especially with a 7pm end time. I expect ridership to increase once it reaches the airport and downtown.
Isn’t the system automated? Do the computers need to rest after 7pm?
No. It’s the security people they have to hire to keep the stations safe.
As is the case of most metropolitan areas the fares are too high to attract new clientele even those who use it regularly out of necessity struggle to pay their fares.
In the name of the wisdom of all rail systems, maybe it should be a 5 am – 10 pm run time.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Skyline will require riders to have an active HOLO card loaded with funds to board. Each first tap will come with a free transfer, for 2.5 hours.
HOLO cards also come with Fare Capping, to ensure you don’t spend more than a day or monthly pass.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
A striking reality that needs to be carefully studied!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
We were told (last week) the completed system would carry a projected 40,000. The first free day of the partial system was a very good start toward that projection. The first paid day of the partial system carries 1,245.
BTW what kind of transit system shuts down at 7:00 PM? Maybe that’s why ridership is so low.