The Honolulu Department of Transportation Services expects to receive the completed segment of the rail system from Kapolei to Aloha Stadium this summer, once safety testing is complete and verified.
Deputy Transportation Services Director Jon Nouchi spoke to The Conversation about how it will connect with TheBus and function as a place of community gatherings.
"When rail opens, it's going to be treated just like any other bus route. So in terms of transferring to and from bus to rail, rail to bus, or any of your transfer privileges, the fare capping, your passes, they will work just the same on rail," Nouchi said.
The current single adult fare for Oʻahu's public transit is $3 with a daily cap of $7.50.
The Honolulu rail will require riders to have a HOLO tap card loaded with money. Card kiosks will also be located at the stations.
If you don't usually use public transportation on Oʻahu and have not needed a HOLO tap card, Nouchi said the city wants everyone to have one because they will soon also be used for public parking lots.
"Even like the lots in Kaimukī, or even the Downtown-Chinatown lots and our upcoming parking meters, once those are procured on a certain timeline, will accept HOLO," Nouchi said. "It's not just a transit card, but it's a transportation card."
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board met Thursday to talk about progress on turning over the first rail segment to the city.
The city is aiming for a grand opening of the Honolulu rail in July. Nouchi said elected and appointed officials from Hawaiʻi to Washington, D.C. will be invited to the event.
"This is the first new start that's opening in the U.S. in probably, gee, maybe a good 15 years. There hasn't been a high-profile, new transit project that's opened up in many, many, many years. So everybody was kind of watching how the construction was going," Nouchi said.
"After we open it, we will continue to do events around showing off the stations, introducing the stations to the neighborhoods... and we want to attract people to the stations with activities and other resources," Nouchi said.
He said the city is working to organize open markets at rail stations, particularly where there are fresh food deserts.
"Just making sure that all the neighborhoods around it can realize what the stations are and how they'd be good focal points of the community," he added.
Nouchi also addressed concerns about security on the driverless trains along the nine stations in this first segment. He said there will be three levels of security: staff, contracted security, and the Honolulu Police Department.
"We've seen what's happened in other cities where crime and other issues have plagued the transit system and made them very much less desirable to use since the pandemic. And we have our eye on that. And we will not let our system deteriorate to that level, especially since we have a brand new system."
The trains are slated to run every 10 minutes on weekdays between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m., and on weekends between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 13, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
