Honolulu rail

As the summer comes to a close, thousands of college and private school students will be hitting the road. Roger Morton, director of the city’s Transportation Services, expects a spike in ridership on Skyline and TheBus.

Leeward Community College's Integrated Industrial Technology (IIT) program is a two-year associate's program, which oftentimes acts as a pathway for graduates to head into Hitachi and rail jobs. Leeward Community College is situated right next to Hitachi's Pearl City operations center, sharing a Skyline stop between the entrance to either location. HPR's Sabrina Bodon reports.

The long-awaited opening of the Honolulu rail has brought new attention to traffic from Oʻahu's west side. Some are concerned that construction underway at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam shipyard could exacerbate congestion on the roads.

Paying passengers have been riding the Honolulu rail for about two weeks now. The Conversation checked in with commuters to see the way Skyline has impacted their travels.

Rail critics have expressed concerns about the high cost of construction and operations. Now the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi's analysis says for every $3 ride, taxpayers will be subsiding the costs by $51.

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Those who have ridden Skyline have had a chance to look at the artwork featured at each station. The designs on the concrete columns are meant to reflect stories that are connected to each of the 21 stations. However, the signs that are supposed to explain the artwork are missing.

Paying passengers have been riding Skyline for one week now. The city says the Honolulu rail averages roughly 3,300 passengers per day. The Conversation's Catherine Cruz and Stephanie Han took a look at its accommodations for those traveling with bicycles and surfboards.

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The excitement of rail’s opening began at 2 p.m., on Friday, June 30, and ran throughout the weekend. More than 40,500 rail riders made it out, according to the city's Department of Transportation Services.