We live in an age when three cars per household is what some families feel is necessary to enjoy unrestrained mobility. Compare that to an often-overlooked fact about our city’s population: Many residents live in zero-car households.
The Alternatives Analysis for the rail project estimated that 15 percent of the households along the transit corridor don’t have a car registered to them. The planned rail system would provide “improved transportation equity for all travelers,” according to the AA:
“Many lower-income and minority workers live in the corridor outside the urban core and commute to work in the Primary Urban Center Development Plan area. Many lower-income workers also rely on transit because of its affordability. In addition, daily parking costs in Downtown Honolulu are among the highest in the United States (Colliers, 2005), further limiting this population’s access to Downtown. Improvements to transit capacity and reliability will serve all transportation system users, including low-income and under-represented populations.”
Transit Oriented Development in conjunction with the build-out of the rail project will likely increase the percentage of households that see no need to maintain one or more cars. Residents of those future apartment and condo complexes will be within walking distance of the system's stations or will take feeder buses to catch the train.
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