Is Hawaii’s New Rail Worth It?
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- čas přidán 4. 08. 2023
- The Hawaii skyline is breathtaking, and there are plenty of things to do on Oahu, like experience Honolulu's new transit rail system. But is the new rail worth it? Well, you're in luck! Today, we are going to give it a try!
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#skylinehawaii #thingstodoonoahu #honolulu
Love to see you enjoying and hyping up the Skyline! It's easy to hate on how long it took or how it doesn't get into Honolulu yet, but it's refreshing to see a positive take. My dad's been a contractor with the state for a long time (not related to Skyline... but it was a constant political story) and I remember all the chaos and craziness of this construction back when I was in high school. It sucks this took so long, but I'm glad to see they pushed through on this and hopefully the government has learn a lot in the process and can refine future transit deployments. I'm a firm believer that Oahu is perhaps one of the greatest opportunities for transit deployment in the country. It has the potential to make some very positive changes for Oahu and I hope one day we'll not only see the current proposal finished, but we'll see an additional commuter line extended up to Mililani or maybe some service going deeper into Ewa Beach.
Glad to see your video again! It's a great happiness to live in a land like this. I pray to be there in the future. Be happy, Dwayne!
Aloha my friend! 🤙🏾 Thank you for watching. You’re right! It is great happiness to live in this land. I hope you are able to make it to visit. And you be happy too! 🙏🏾🌈🌴
Hey, i definitely appreciate your tour of skyline. You made it interesting and informative. Great job!
From a resident’s POV, please allow me to say that every resident is paying for this short ride. Originally, it was supposed to run from Kapolei, through Ala Moana where many residents work, to the University of Hawaii. Presently, it doesn’t even go half way to the originally planned distance. Source for serving the public on Oahu, it’s not. And then there are all of the residents of outer islands, which cannot benefit from this rail at all. They are taxed and paying for rail as well. So from the local POV, it’s really not smiled upon or appreciated by many. Ridership is desperately lower than anticipated by the State “experts.” As you’ve seen, there’s still considerable walking in between stops and destination shopping, restaurants, businesses, etc making rail not that expedient for most of us. But, your video was pretty kind and I’m glad you enjoyed your ride.
I really appreciate you sharing your point of view here and was hoping a resident here would. I've heard so many different opinions from from other locals I know and from my coworkers and every one has a different opinion so I'm glad you weighed in. I love public transportation (I use to and from work everyday here) so this new rail has been very interesting to me. Mahalo for writing in. 🤙🏾
If promos like this encourage tourists to use the system of it helps you residents out because the fares help cover the operating costs. It’s a pity they prioritised the East Kapolei end rather than the sector from Downtown to the maintenance depot, leaving the system with few riders initially.
One common problem with transit projects in the US is that they often try to build the cheapest segments first. Take the California high speed rail for example. They have only started construction on the Central Valley segment while the most costly segments aren’t even close to being started. When service begins it will only be from Merced to Bakersfield, not SF to LA. Not exactly useful for a majority of the states residents. The costliest segments will be even more expensive due to inflation and initial ridership will suffer as well.
Since the project in Oahu is already a sunk cost, they need to build it out to the airport as fast as possible so it can start capturing ridership. Having an air rail link will be useful for locals. Then when it connects to the city center it will be useful for both locals and visitors. They fumbled the bag pretty badly, but hopefully it proves to be more useful when fully built out
@@douglaskean Ahhhhh, interesting! I hope it proves to be more useful too, when it's built out. I would ride it! I'm all for public transit. Will the California high-speed rail ever be finished?
@@dwaynearoundtown I definitely have a lot of hope for the Skyline too once it is fully built out. CAHSR will eventually be operational (my bet is 2050 for SF to LA at this rate), it will just take forever due to limited funding. The problem is that funding for transit projects in the US is very limited as well. Interstate highway projects receive a 90% funding match from the federal government, this same funding match is not given to transit projects. The CAHSR project has been funded with 85% state funds and the remaining funds are primarily from federal grants. This requires transit projects to rely on taxing their local population and repeatedly chasing down various grants. Similar funding situation to the skyline.
Love this channel so much. can't wait to see you ☺
Awww thank you, fam! 🙏🏾❤It's about to go down! You ready? I hope you're ready! You're gonna love it here. 🌴🌈I just took Mom to this amazing restaurant the other day I just found. I'm taking you too! 😉
Being someone raised and living in O'ahu but not in Honolulu or Kapolei, the rail is a little useless and expensive. 10+ years and billions of dollars later, it hardly goes anywhere and hardly anyone uses it.
Most the time the rail's nearly empty nowadays. It doesn't go to many places, the connecting busses get stuck in the traffic (super bad during rush hour).
For someone like me to get from my home to uni, I would need at least 2 hours! By car, it'd take 20 minutes. Most of that time is cause even if I don't need to go into Honolulu, I still need to pass through it cause none of the public transport lines go from central to west side directly.
It sucks that you basically need a car to live and work anywhere outside of Honolulu. Such a shame the island's so car dependent. Explaining Hawai'i traffic to any of my mainland friends is wild.
I'd love to be able to use the rail, but so many people just can't. Only 0.3% of the island uses the rail. TheBus has around 6% of the island's commuters, since it has plenty coverage, just takes plenty time.
TheRail is nothing more than a boondoggle! I’m glad to see that you are not fooled!!
I always learn something new from you! Thanks for taking us on your ride around town! 🤙🏼🌈🌴
Great video; thanks. I'll be visiting O'ahu next week with my family. The island has changed so much since I was there in the early 1990's as a soldier stationed at Fort Shafter and Schofield Barracks.
Aloha Cookie!!! They finally opened the Skyline and it looked like a fun ride to see the other side of the Island. Thanks for another Cool way to Explore Oahu! 👍🏼
Aloha Mom Z! They finally opened it! It's really cool to see more of the Island and especially from up high. You know I'm like a moth to a flame for a good view. 😉And after a busy week at work, this was a great way to explore. I'm so glad you enjoyed. ❤🌈
Mad respect for taking that agonisingly long trip on the 20 all the way from Waikiki, I thought you were gonna transfer to the A.
Love the laid back story telling style Dwayne! Keep it up!
Mahalo for the kind message! Big mahalo for watching. I'll keep 'em coming!
I appreciate the full transit experience! I'm most surprised by the lack of traffic in the city...
Love this. I too use public transportation every day to get to and from work and finally rode the rail last month. This was awesome 🤙🏼
No way!! You use public transportation, too?? That's major! That's how I get to and from work every day. I love it cuz I get to sightsee the whole time and don't have to worry about a car or driving. Mahalo for watching! 🤙🏾
This was a great video! Loved how you showed us Honolulu by transit! Music was perfect for it.
Mahalo Paul, for watching! I was hoping it would be something different and cool to see. I had not seen much of the island other than Waikiki before I got here so I wanted to take you on a ride and show you something new. So happy you liked it and the music too! Stay tuned...more to come this weekend!
I'm so impressed with your editing! Great video, please make more!
Hi Justin! Awwww wow! Thanks so much! That means a lot. I'm watching TV differently now to get inspiration and am always trying to learn to be better. I never want the the videos to be boring and waste your time so I'm glad it was okay. I'll keep them coming! Mahalo for watching! 😎🤙🏾
Thanx, Dwayne.
Of course! Mahalo for watching! 🤙🏾
As many videos posted aren't by people who actually use mass transit as their main mode of transportation, this was very refreshing to watch.
Thanks for the unique perspective!
Aloha and Mahalo Nui Loa!
Aloha @EvilTheOne! Awww wow! This was refreshing to hear! I appreciate you saying this. When I made this, I knew there would be different opinions. That said, I really enjoy the public transit system here. I take the "DaBus" daily and look forward to when the train expands the line. I know it will be a minute, but until then, I'm enjoying the ride. 🤙🏾
@@dwaynearoundtown The big plus is that Crumbl Cookies was open when you got to Kapolei. It would've been uneventful if you went all that way and didn't get that payoff. At least when you returned at dusk/night, mass transit is pretty safe in Hawaii.
@@EvilTheOne I knooooow!!!! I didn't even bother to check ahead of time. Trust me, it wouldn't have been my first time going somewhere, only for the place to be closed. That island time is a real thing, and places open and close at the drop of a hat. And I agree with you, I feel really safe on mass transit here, even in the evenings.
I absolutely enjoyed the train ride. Have been looking forward to whatever you had for us. ❤
Heeeeeeey!! ❤So glad you enjoyed it! I got more coming...stay tuned...🌈😉😘
thanks for the travel. awesome scenery and good narrative.
Of course! Mahalo for checking out the video! I agree with you. The scenery is spectacular! I rode back and forth a few times this day just so I could watch everything. It's really nice.
Thanks for the realistic view of a public transit experience. I was surprised at how few trees and plants were in the neighborhoods. I understand the trains and buses move through more commercialized areas but it looked very typical mainland cleared-land-concrete-centric. Wasn’t very scenic to me but maybe that because I am watching on a phone. Thanks for taking on the ride with you. You have a great positive vibe that makes your videos enjoyable.
Of course! I appreciate you watching and taking the ride with me! The rail here is a very touchy subject here but I was curious to check it out for myself...plus I wanted to get some cookies at the end. lol Appreciate the feedback. 🤙🏾
Thank you for being such a joyful transit rider!
Always! I really enjoy this ride. 🤙🏾
im from the mainland and there is a service like this, however it wasnt popular to where it is now since it was first built. i think it was the 70's or 80's however now it is super packed every morning and evening. i believe the skyline rail will be just the same.. it isnt fully constructed or open to further distances, anyways i believe the rail will be popular and who knows it might go underground
Braddah Dwayne. Awesome video. Never rode skyline but thanks for taking us on the ride with you. ALOHA!!!! 😊
Aloha Brah! Mahalo for watching. 🙏🏾 Glad you were able to take the ride with me! Come back anytime. Shoots! 😎🤙🏾
For sure. Will ride it someday. Aloha. 😀🤙
Thanks for the video! My Mom and I rode the rail 😊.
We left the island before the rail construction finished! I’m so happy you made a video of this 🎉❤😊
Well...you know what that means?? You have to come back so you can check it out! 😉Mahalo for watching! ❤🙏🏾I'm still tripping there is no conductor! That's wild. I've never seen that.
@@dwaynearoundtown yes someday hopefully 🙏🏽 my kids would love the HART ride 🍿😇😇
@@meileent 🙏🏾Oh, they would love it! The day I taped this, the kids I saw were having a blast! 😎 They love sitting in the conductor's chair. lol
Thanks for the ride Dwayne!! 😂
I do remember Showbiz Pizza 🍕and the shows were a hit, as a child. Great video, thanks for sharing and I’m glad you got your cookies 🍪.
I love that you remember Showbiz Pizza too! It makes me feel like I wasn't imagining things. 🙏🏾😉Mahalo for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thank you!!! I was glad Crumbl was open! I was there yesterday! lol
Always love the circle island bus turns around at Turtle Bay too.
Thank You!
hi, Dwayne: kapolei: kuh-po-lei (not cap). Thanks for taking us on the trip ! My brother bought his Seniors Annual Bus/Rail Pass for $45/yr and went on the rail today Saturday morning from Aloha Stadium to the Waipahu station ! Says he loved it, I will have to try it too ! People might say why didn't they build the rail to go all the way to the new shopping center Ka Makana Alii? Well, it was because the rail was planned and built first, while the shopping center was still in the minds of the developers... they do say if there are funds available (ahem, ahem...) they would like to extend it all the way to that major shopping center but that will be way, WAY in the future ! P.S. Damn nice Aloha shirt you have there !
Hawaii guy! Mahalo for watching and for the feedback! I've been working on my pronunciation of words and my coworkers help me out too. I'm getting there. That's so nice your brother was able to get his rail pass. I really loved it like your brother did. You will have to try it as well and let me know what you think. I'm sure it will take a long time for them to do any extensions. Thank you! I'm glad you liked the shirt. A few of my work colleagues are helping me with my shirt game. 😉🙏🏾
This isn’t the only railway on the island. Near the last station in kapolei there’s a railway museum called the Hawaiian railway society. And the train goes through the resort area ko ‘olina and It passes next to the ocean.
This is a great note! Big mahalo for sharing this! I'm going to add this to my list. 😎🤙🏾
@@dwaynearoundtown on Sunday the trains stop at ko’olina for 30 minutes and you can walk around and get ice cream or food.
@@G00FY_GOkay…now you’re really speaking my language. Food and ice cream?! Say less! I’m there! 😂
@@dwaynearoundtown It’s a really enjoyable ride. And you can walk around the train yard and look at all the different equipment.
Is that the old pineapple railway that has the old Victorian style passenger cars made of koa wood? Goes up the the Disney Resort where the Black Sparrow is in port?
I love watching your posts. We are coming over in September from New Zealand so watch out for some crazy lady screaming your name 😂 it would really make my holiday if I saw you xx
Aloha Sue!!! Mahalo for watching! 🙏🏾❤I would love to meet you and your family and friends! I'll be screaming your name too, so you better watch out! 😂🌺🌈Will it be your first time to Oahu?
Yes first and only trip. We have saved up for ages to come over and I intend to make the most of it! It looks so beautiful over there and warm (it's winter here ATM and it's freezing 🥶) we will be there from the 7th September
@@suecorfield5355 This is awesome to hear, Sue! I think Sept is a great time to visit. I hope to have the chance to meet you and your family while you're here.
I lived on Oahu all my life and drove past the building at 3:57 a thousand times but never went inside or knew anything about it being a store probably because the side facing the road had no doors or parking.
Oh wow!!! But you know what? I wouldn't have ever known either if one of my coworkers had not put me on. She brought in taro & sweet potato chips for lunch and I asked where she got them. She told me about the Hawaiian Chip Company, and I found it and went over immediately! You're right! No doors and no parking facing the road, so it's hard to know!
It’s a start. It will catch on when traffic becomes gridlocked.
Taking a 2-hour one-way trip to get cookies is totally nuts but something I'd totally do! I'm no stranger to public transit either. Great videos. I don't have Insta, curious as to what you got and what's good there.
The rail was first constructed on the wrong side of the island where it is mostly rural countryside.
what a wonderful place is Hawaii. very beautiful place♥️♥️
Some folks love Crumbl , others including me think they taste raw. They are overpriced also . But obviously other people love them .
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
the station sail canopy reminds me of the Expo-Express, still the only tourist railway plied by subway trains that happened to introduce the world's traveling public to robo shuttles (Minirail didn't count)
Wow! You are so knowledgeable about trains and stations! You have such a cool channel! Thanks for watching and sharing! 🙏🏾
AMAZING VIEWS!
Views. Are. Amazing! I love to see things from all different perspectives and Skyline doesn't disappoint. 🤙🏾
AKA, the fail rail. There are no restrooms at the stations, it doesn’t go anywhere worth while, it closes at 7:00 pm daily. It’s a horrible failure.
If Frank Fasi had been elected governor decades ago, the rail would have been built to actually go to places residents want to reach, and probably closer to the original price tag. What a waste of resources: the rail needed to connect to Ala Moana Shopping Center and University of Hawai’i.
Hm. I think Skyline is absolutely worth it. Haha I love the anticipation inducing “are they open?” at the end. Aloha😊
Haha! I'm glad you liked that part. I was having a bit of fun with the editing. ❤️🙏🏾 Thanks for watching!
I’m just here for the Car-brain comments 😂
oh yeah i forgot to say it may also reduce traffic
Can you take the Rail from the Airport to Waikiki Beach?!
Unfortunately, you cannot. There is work being done to eventually make that happen or at least get close to Waikiki, but as of now, it's a no. 😏
@@dwaynearoundtown so it will open from Aloha Stadium to Kalihi Transit Center in 2025 (which includes the airport), and then they will open from Kalihi Transit Center to Civic Center in 2031 (Civic Center is around down town Honolulu). then they plan to open it to UH Manoa in DATE PENDING and after that they will go back to East Kapolei and open it to the Disney Resorts in DATE PENDING.
@@ElseAndrecool There are no plans to go to UH Manoa. In fact, the city approved a number of real estate developments around Ala Moana SC that will block the train from going beyond the Ala Moana station, unless you build a completely separate system and change over. BTW, according to hart’s 2022 “recovery” plan, the final 1.2 miles from “civic center” to Ala Moana (date pending due to an absence of funding) will cost $1.37 billion.
“When pushed by city council members Tuesday in a planning committee hearing, HART gave several ideas to get the rail line to UH, including one that would require passengers to get off the train at the Ala Moana station.
‘It would be a transfer to Ala Moana to a new system. So an elevator ride up 8 or 9 stories and then a transfer to a new system’” hawaiinewsnow 1/24/2018
Ottawa Canada has a similar Lrt. Except it breaks down all the time and the outdoor stations are not covered. Ottawa is the coldest capital on the planet...
Oh no! It's breaks down all the time AND the outdoor stations are not covered!? That sounds really rough. I don't think I could handle that kind of cold. I tip my hat to you for being able to! 🎩
Like how there are English subnames for some stations. Great views.
Thanks so much for watching, David! I hear you. And you're right...it's great views! I really liked that the loudspeaker said the Hawaiian names because it helping me to learn how to pronounce them properly. The more I hear it, the better.
Can't wait to go back home and try out the new HART rail. Thanks for the views!
Aloha Milo! I'm excited for you to try it out! Let me know what you think. I know people have strong feelings one way or another, and I am interested to hear your point of view. Thanks for watching! 🙏🏾
I once rode it was HORRIBLE HOMELESS WERE ALL ON THE TRAIN I JUST LEFT DIDNT CARE ABOUT MY MONEY THERE SMELD SO BAD I LITERALLY DIED SO I LEFT HOMELESS WERE ALL OVER THE STATION TOO HAWAII DO SOMETHING governor Green I know him cause he is focusing on Maui
“Kapolia”😂
2:56, *Chinatown
I definitely remember ShowBiz Pizza before it was Chuck E cheese but the island of Oahu, Hawaii is pretty big. In my opinion I think Waikiki looks like Miami mixed with Los Angeles.
Yeaaaah!!!! Come on!!! You remember too! Sometimes, it feels like that time never happened. Waikiki definitely has big-city vibes. It's one of the reasons I like it so much. I'm a big-city guy, so it feels like home.
Well Wayne, I guess you’re older than me. Showbiz pizza?😅
😂😂I beat you! Showbiz Pizza…where a kid can be a kid! 😂🍕. I used to love that creepy music puppet band. Lol
Wow thats crazy how they just built this and didn't install restrooms at the stations.
I'm sure they had a reason but it's still so interesting to me as well!
the real problem is yet to show up.
“Schindler Elevator Corporation announces that it has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract to install and maintain 49 custom machine room-less (MRL) traction elevators and 23 Schindler 9700 transit escalators throughout the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) system's 21 stations.” schindler 11/21/2013
Most stations have two platforms on the outside of the tracks rather than one central platform serving both tracks. Realistically they need something like 80 escalators to have an up and down escalator for each platform. Instead they’re installing one escalator per platform, and reversing the direction as needed. At that rate, they’re still not going to have enough escalators for either 19 or 21 stations, as the case may be.
It’s to discourage homeless people from living on site.
Looks like a lot of concrete and back yards. Probably good for commuters but maybe not tourism. And no washrooms (restrooms), not for me.
I thought that having no restrooms was an interesting choice. This definitely gives a different POV and as I’m still leaning the city was helpful for me.
I just left from working there last month. Might have seen ya, was part of security . Def not worth it anymore working there.
If 1/10 of the money wasted on the train went into the bus we could have had a world class bus system with 24 service, new routes, Wi-Fi etc etc. The train is a train wreck and will never hit the goals we where promised. Make the rail a walk/bike way and the stations mini casinos. Faster commute and $ maker.
Dwayne! I found out there is a wildfire in Hawaii! Are you ok?
Aloha Igor! Yes, parts of Maui and Hawaii Island were devastated by the fires. I am okay and am safe. Mahalo my friend for checking in. 🙏🏾❤️
@@dwaynearoundtown Glad to hear it!
@@igorfil2526 Appreciate you, buddy.
That excise tax increase...I think it's never gonna sunset.
If there is a price on something...it will always increase. I just saw that some of my favorite malasadas just went up in price too!
No, it’s not
Nope
Totally ridiculous!
No definitely not worth it, not worth $3.00. More like $1.50
I hear you, it's on the pricier side for public transit, but still cheaper than an Uber and the views are 🔥
Waste of money
This guys is a shill for the City. Don’t believe what he says. He is not a local by any means. He mispronounced Kapolei, three times. And he didn’t even try to say Iwilei. To be fair, he did get Halawa right but he didn’t even attempt any of the other station names. And saying that the ride is smooth is a complete lie. The ride is anything but smooth. And did you notice that nooooooooobody else was on the train? Because nobody uses this useless monstrosity.👎🏽
Total waste of money.. where is the aloha
TheRail (or Skyline or whatever they want to call it) is nothing more than a boondoggle! Don’t be fooled!!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boondoggle
I always learn something new from you! Thanks for taking us on your ride around town! 🤙🏼🌈🌴
Jeff!! Howzit, brah?! Awww thanks!! 😎🙏🏾I'm trying to learn from you too! You gotta tell me some more hidden gems! Thanks for rolling with me around town! 🤙🏾🌈