Audience: ‘Tell Us More about Bus Connections’

One of Appendix D's many bus routing maps.

“How will people who want to use rail get to the stations? I think this information should get out there now so people can learn what the bus plan is and maybe have a good reason to look forward to riding the train.”

That’s a paraphrased comment from Tuesday’s Honolulu rail presentation at the Ohana Honolulu Airport Hotel, where participants had numerous suggestions and questions about the project. One of them concerned ridership projections, which we covered yesterday.

Until Tuesday, it’s been sufficient to describe the future bus-rail interface as a hub-and-spoke relationship, with station-hubs along the 20-mile elevated line and bus route-spokes feeding into them.

Appendix D

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (found at the project’s website) is the go-to document for detailed information on the Honolulu rail system, including bus routes in 2030. That’s the target year for much of the rail planning, although the entire line is expected to be completed and operating by 2019.

You’ll find Tables in the appendix for existing and future bus routes, including coverage, frequency and routing between transit centers, rail stations and routes to and from neighborhoods. Information covers which routes will be eliminated due to the speedier rail service covering the same territory, where new routes will operate and the current and future route frequencies.

Here’s a sample of what’s in Table D-1, Changes/Additions to Local Bus Service with Implementation of the Project – 2030:

New Route 312 – connecting Moanalua Valley with Salt Lake and the Airport. Service will operate 10 minutes in peak and 30 minutes in midday periods. Mauka bound from the airport the route travels Paiea, left to Aolele, right on Rodgers, right on Nimitz, left on Camp Catlin, left on Arizona, left on Salt Lake, right on Ala Lilikoi, right Ala Ilima, left on Ala Napunani, right Ala Aolani, right Moanalua, left Ala Kapouna, left Moanalua to serve the Kaiser Foundation Hospital, left Ala Napunani, left Ala Aolani to Ala Aolani and Ala Uwila. The return trip follows from Moanalua Valley via Ala Aolani, right on Moanalua (again serving Kaiser), left Ala Kapuna, left Moanalua, right Ala Napunani, right Ala Ilima, left Ala Lilikoi, left Salt Lake, right Arizona, right Camp Catlin, right Nimitz and left on Rodgers to rail station.

This is typical of Appendix D, so if it's detailed information on bus routes you want, Appendix D is where to find it.