2aHawaii
General Topics => Political Discussion => Topic started by: QUIETShooter on March 04, 2025, 12:36:23 AM
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The Honolulu Rail has fallen short of ridership goals, an audit said.
I am shocked. Shocked, I say! This can't be. :rofl: Among other factors, implementation with other transportation options were part of the problem. Essentially, it was faster to commute by Bus or car. :o
Wait, wasn't implementation of other transportation options the key to making this system work? ::) And what's this about safety around the terminals being a concern? Nonsense! Hawaii is a safe, friendly, and crime free (and soon gun-free) State! ;) :rofl:
Maybe because the Rail is still unfinished? Maybe if we pour billions more into finishing it, rivaling or equaling the amount of money we give Ukraine, things will improve?
Yeah. That's it. Throw billions more into it (destroying businesses along the way), finish it, and the system will be the savior of mass transit.
Meanwhile, the city will be looking into the current issue of ridership decline. Probably contract an independent company to investigate and make recommendations. What's another couple of million dollars. We gotta do this right.
Right? LOL. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/audit-reveals-honolulu-rail-system-falls-short-of-ridership-goals/ar-AA1Ab7Sp?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=f4766aa2a3c044cbba5273f07d43b7f2&ei=42
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Somehow posted in wrong thread.... :(
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@DOGE_HonRailSkyLine
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Even if an audit were done and found fraud, those who are opposing the DOGE agency will cry foul and not accept it. The Kool-aid is strong in HI.
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Kelii Akina had a great interview with Panos on why he left Hawaii after 31 years.
https://youtu.be/Zn0s1zol354?t=42
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Kelii Akina had a great interview with Panos on why he left Hawaii after 31 years.
https://youtu.be/Zn0s1zol354?t=42
He was a beacon of common sense in a sea of idiots.
Wherever he is, he is in a better place. I wish him well.
And of course, Moofee is still here, screwing up something else like tourism or something.
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Speaking of Moofee, I recall a cartoon about his rail project (It will only cost us $5 billion).
The cartoon showed a group of people with an M on their arm bands and giving the nazi salute to
the train while chanting: "Mufi"
IF they build the rail to Ala Moana, it is now expected to cost $20 Billion.
Currently it costs $54 per passenger.
An audit is absolutely needed.
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The audit examined the system from its launch in July 2023 to December 2023
and revealed a 77% decline in ridership.
They said contributing factors include the limited service area, inadequate operating
hours, and a lack of integration with other transportation options.
The audit also found that commute times on the rail are slower than driving and
similar to bus travel during morning peak hours.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/audit-reveals-honolulu-rail-system-falls-short-of-ridership-goals/ar-AA1Ab7Sp?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=f4766aa2a3c044cbba5273f07d43b7f2&ei=42
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/audit-reveals-honolulu-rail-system-falls-short-of-ridership-goals/ar-AA1Ab7Sp?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=f4766aa2a3c044cbba5273f07d43b7f2&ei=42
I'll bet no wifi in the cars either. The train in Taipei has wifi and wifi in the station. The station also has a restroom, which the HI one's don't have.
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I'll bet no wifi in the cars either. The train in Taipei has wifi and wifi in the station. The station also has a restroom, which the HI one's don't have.
If you're like me, you avoid connecting your personal devices to ANY publicly accessible, open WiFi access point. I may trust is a hotel WiFi AP that requires a different password each week, but i prefer a hard line connection in my hotel room.
Spectrum/RoadRunner has access points all over the island for subscribers. I would use that if the rail cars/stations offered it, since you need to log in with individual credentials.
Bottom line: I don't see lack of WiFi as a major problem with The Rail. Just one more thing to waste money on, and an unnecessary risk for users.
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If you're like me, you avoid connecting your personal devices to ANY publicly accessible, open WiFi access point. I may trust is a hotel WiFi AP that requires a different password each week, but i prefer a hard line connection in my hotel room.
Spectrum/RoadRunner has access points all over the island for subscribers. I would use that if the rail cars/stations offered it, since you need to log in with individual credentials.
Bottom line: I don't see lack of WiFi as a major problem with The Rail. Just one more thing to waste money on, and an unnecessary risk for users.
There are people who don't trust public wifi and people who do. It's just a small thing, but all the small things add up that make the rail a failure before it even began.
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There are people who don't trust public wifi and people who do. It's just a small thing, but all the small things add up that make the rail a failure before it even began.
So, adding WiFi for riders, even an insecure and risky version, is a plus when evaluating the success of the rail?
I bet if it did exist, you'd still count it against them due to the chance of having your personal devices hacked/infected.
Given their track record (pun intended), any WiFi solution would be the least robust, most insecure option available but priced at the top end of the market.
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So, adding WiFi for riders, even an insecure and risky version, is a plus when evaluating the success of the rail?
I bet if it did exist, you'd still count it against them due to the chance of having your personal devices hacked/infected.
Given their track record (pun intended), any WiFi solution would be the least robust, most insecure option available but priced at the top end of the market.
I wouldn't call it evaluating the success, more like setting up to have success. Modern times require modern tech to make life easier.
Again, it's not just the lack of wifi, but other small things that when all added together make the rail suck.
I know there's no restrooms at the stations, but are there water fountains?
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I wouldn't call it evaluating the success, more like setting up to have success. Modern times require modern tech to make life easier.
Again, it's not just the lack of wifi, but other small things that when all added together make the rail suck.
I know there's no restrooms at the stations, but are there water fountains?
I've not ridden The Rail yet. The one time i was planning to use it for a trip to Kapolei. The only routes in the 4 hour window I could use it took 45 minutes to an hour longer than taking the buss start to end, there and back.
Ridiculous.
They should have a few express busses going between bus transfer points and the Rail stations. That at least would utilize the busses better instead of trying to compete with them. As this point, Rail's losing bigly.
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I've not ridden The Rail yet. The one time i was planning to use it for a trip to Kapolei. The only routes in the 4 hour window I could use it took 45 minutes to an hour longer than taking the buss start to end, there and back.
Ridiculous.
They should have a few express busses going between bus transfer points and the Rail stations. That at least would utilize the busses better instead of trying to compete with them. As this point, Rail's losing bigly.
every person I know who did ride it, only rid it to check it out. They still drive everywhere they need to go.
The people who I do know who catch the bus from out of town to town, still ride the bus.
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A friend of mine had a class he was taking at UH which did an audit of the rail for a project. They found something like $2 million worth of payments made to construction companies whose bids were not approved. This was a while ago. I can only imagine what that number is now.
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I wouldn't call it evaluating the success, more like setting up to have success. Modern times require modern tech to make life easier.
Again, it's not just the lack of wifi, but other small things that when all added together make the rail suck.
I know there's no restrooms at the stations, but are there water fountains?
Not sure many people know. The Rail Stations are deemed dangerous according to the recent audit. (tongue in cheek) :rofl:
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Should have listened to da Filipino who opposed rail and wanted to greatly
expand Da Bus system. He said he could do it for $350M and one year’s time.
Hawaii version of DOGE is called DOGI Department of Government Inefficiency.
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KSSK this morning said the auditor who did the 2023 rider audit was wrong when they said ridership is down 70%. It's only down 40%.
So regardless of the reduction in riders, why are we paying this auditor? I get there is some room for error, but not 70 down to 40% type of error.
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KSSK this morning said the auditor who did the 2023 rider audit was wrong when they said ridership is down 70%. It's only down 40%.
So regardless of the reduction in riders, why are we paying this auditor? I get there is some room for error, but not 70 down to 40% type of error.
DEI...........
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Every time I see a train it's empty.
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KSSK this morning said the auditor who did the 2023 rider audit was wrong when they said ridership is down 70%. It's only down 40%.
So regardless of the reduction in riders, why are we paying this auditor? I get there is some room for error, but not 70 down to 40% type of error.
The numbers from that audit appear to be from Skyline's own ridership reports comparing the month of July 2023 to December 2023.
July 2023 -- 151,600
Dec 2023 -- 85,460
Browsing the rider reports from July 2023 - Feb 2025, few months broke 100K. On average, there have been 97,356 riders per month if you include July 2023.
Since July 2023 was an outlier at around 50% more than any other month, removing that from the average makes sense.
That leaves an average ridership = 94,644/month.
Any comparisons between July 2023 (first full month of operation) with ANY other month is not informative. Looking at the trend from start to present day makes more sense.
As I said before, percentages are used when trying to mask the actual raw data in order to make a point. The auditor compounded the issue by making a mistake in their math, which drew more scrutiny than I think they wanted.
https://www8.honolulu.gov/dts/skyline-ridership/
Here's a chart I made of ALL the monthly ridership totals:
(https://i.imgur.com/a2wNgdp.png)
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Except for the month of July and maybe August, comparing each month to the same month in the previous year, ridership seems to be either the same or slightly higher.
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Every time I see a train it's empty.
Me too. And I'm traveling during peak traffic hours when people are going to or from work and school.
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Except for the month of July and maybe August, comparing each month to the same month in the previous year, ridership seems to be either the same or slightly higher.
Different picture than comparing a seemingly cherry-picked highest and lowest month to show a 40% drop -- and even then they couldn't do the math correctly.
Math is easy. Knowing how to calculate a percentage takes smartness!! :geekdanc: