June 30 marked one year of service for Skyline, the Honolulu rail. The transportation system racked up more than a million rides this past year.
Officials reported a ridership high of 70,000 a day during the opening weekend — and a low of 2,000.
"We're doing about 3,500 average on a weekday, and a lot of these people are using different means to get to the places that they go," said Jon Nouchi, deputy director of the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services.
"As a multimodal geek, as someone who loves transportation, that makes me so happy that we give them the means to take Skyline uninterrupted, you know, not affected by any of the congestion we have on our roadways," he added.
Nouchi was on hand bright and early Monday morning at the Hālawa station near Aloha Stadium. Rail staff handed out pastries to morning commuters as part of the one-year celebration.
The next rail segment from Hālawa to the Middle Street Transit Center is slated to open in 2025.
"As soon as we can get Skyline to go a little bit further, we expect there to be a pretty good watershed moment where people will realize the value of taking it," Nouchi said.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 1, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
