What Hawaii’s Rail Is Like - A Tokyo Commuter’s Perspective

[@020untitled]

It's been a while, glad to see you back! Japan has one of the best transit infrastructure in the world!

[@barrettish]

Yeah, I’m trying to make videos here and there! Hopefully I can do more in the next few months. Japan transit infrastructure is very good indeed.

[@Pilikoa]

I enjoyed your review. Tokyo and many cities have efficient metro systems. Since a lot of groundwork has already been done, there’s no need to start from scratch. We could easily learn from others. Unfortunately, HART missed many opportunities to fulfill their mission to provide mass transit for the majority of residents. The goal is to make it easier for people to quickly commute to popular places, such as downtown Honolulu, colleges, malls, and as you suggested grocery stores. The lack of a direct connection from the rail station to Pearlridge mall is a missed opportunity for everyone. Another example is Ka Makana Alii mall in Kapolei. The last stop is 1 mile from the mall. This area is a relatively new development. It would have made sense to stop at the mall, which has a grocery store, nearby pharmacy, movie theater and restaurants. There are residents and UH West Oahu students along the rail line that could easily hop on. I drive 30 minutes to my destination. If I took the bus, it will take 1 hour and 25 minutes. If I take a combination of the bus and rail, it will take 1 hour and 35 minutes. Perhaps it could be shortened when the rail line services additional areas. I don’t think by much. The lack of common sense and design was flawed from the beginning. Surely, many well-established cities have built a metro system, there is no reason why Hawaii can’t do the same. It comes down to leadership. Lastly, I believe there are no public restroom facilities. After criticism, HART stated that if you have an emergency, staff members will provide a key to their restrooms. Access to restrooms for paying customers is quite common in many places.

[@808turtleneckstem-d1x]

Glad to see that you didn’t expect too much out the Skyline. I use it almost Monday-Friday to get to work. I’ve been using it for 8 months now and it seems to have more and people using it during morning and afternoon peak hours.

[@barrettish]

That’s awesome that it’s convenient for you. I’d have no problem using it on my day-to-day commute, I’m already used to trains and it allows me to do things while I’m commuting rather than focusing on driving.

[@lillygirl7238]

Thank you for this vlog. I live on the Westside and haven't even tried Skyline yet. The ticket buttons already looked like there was rust. I wish they planned it better since I would take it to Ala Moana or Waikiki to save on gas and parking.

[@barrettish]

I noticed the rust too! The Pearlridge station didn’t have rust yet though. For sure, it seems to have a lot of potential, hopefully it can be realized. Thanks for watching!

[@Novusod]

The train isn't planned to go to Waikiki. The farthest East it goes will be Ala Moana.

[@TokenChineseGuy]

@@Novusod Remember when it was supposed to go UH? Remember the massive picture with the CGI viaduct they put on the Honolulu Advertiser in like 2007 or 2008? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

[@yamahaJDM]

Need to move away from west side and move to city Honolulu .

[@jirojiro1029]

I almost always go to Japan in the summer. People with young kids are usually limited by the school calendar as far as vacation is concerned

[@barrettish]

Yup definitely true. A lot of people around me are the same.

[@AviationHawaii]

I live near the Hō’ae’ae Station and believe me, No one ever uses it. All of our taxes for nothing😂

[@barrettish]

I’m sure, they’re really going to have to make a sincere effort at making it more useful and convenient.

[@Insomniac-c7e]

Not really for nothing. To run it requires jobs. That means people are getting paid which means money going into the economy and being used. It is the movement of money that keeps the economy running. Money sitting in bank accounts doing nothing is actually wasted money.

[@DaCombatDude]

Thanks for giving your perspective (one especially from someone who has lived in Japan). Transportation oriented development around stations is really barebones and I wish it was given more consideration. We are way far out from the kind of public transporation and TOD that Japan has (live your whole life completely without a car), but this is better than nothing. It's weird that the outside of a station is a parking lot instead of a walkable neighborhood. It's disappointing too that some of the stations look dirty/full of dirt.

[@barrettish]

Thanks for watching! It’s a good first step, but they definitely need to put all their effort into building around the stations rather than in areas far from them. I figure the parking lot is just due to things being mainly for cars now, but they need to shift away from that and focus on TOD.

[@harveyh3696]

02:27 Sad to say but so true.

[@barrettish]

@@harveyh3696 😅😔

[@gsharrod]

Metal buttons are because “people” hooligans scratch up the screens with graffiti in the US. Buttons allow them to keep working. That people in general aren’t a holes and respect property in Japan is why so many of us would like to live there

[@barrettish]

Ah yeah, makes sense. It’s pretty sad that we have to expect those kinds of things to happen. No idea why people would do that kind of thing, it’s so dumb.

[@elipandaman]

@@gsharrod same reason stations have bathrooms but they're locked by default... too much vandalism, as past data shows for other on-island public facilities like that

[@Seyno2-h0ck-9w3is]

NYC has touchscreens running Windows NT4.0 that are somehow homeless proof though.

[@gsharrod]

@@Seyno2-h0ck-9w3is the other issue, in Hawaii and Los Angeles, San Francisco where this is common the buttons is exposure to elements. Vast majority of stations on the Left Coast are outdoors. Also, I'd wager your touchscreens are within sight of a booth or a cop. Separate aside NYC finally got TAP cards that can be on your phone, instead of that odd slider mag stripe cards what 2023 or was it this year?

[@russellhltn1396]

Tracks are built from the train yard out. That's why they started from the west end instead of from town.

[@barrettish]

That’s what I heard too. I would’ve thought they’d find some space around the airport for it but oh well.

[@russellhltn1396]

@@barrettish Take a look at the trainyard they built. I uses a LOT of space.

[@ElseAndrecool]

I live near a station and take it at least once a week, I would use it more but I already live near my school so I just take TheBus to school. I am a rail supporter and hope to see it succeed

[@barrettish]

That’s great you’re finding it useful. I would definitely ride it as well. I hope they make it convenient for more people moving forward.

[@norineishii4422]

Love your view on the ridership. I thought the same too, why are the doors dirty, when no one rides it, also the buttons are “rusting” already… Yes, touch screen will help I appreciate your views, hoping more ppl will ride it once it goes to the Airport.

[@barrettish]

Thanks! The buttons at one station were rusty already, which is pretty bad. Connecting the airport should help a bit. They just have to make a real effort to make the train convenient.

[@lordkent8143]

Hey Howzit, just stumbled to your channel. Im a transit planner in Honolulu, thank you for not having too high of expectations for your first rail experience ! Haha, i literally thought you would destroy it with your experiences from Japan bur you had realistic expectations. The main purpose of rail in Oahu is commuting people west to town and back really. Because it is not completed ridership will be as you see it 🤣. Convenience stores and machines will take a very long time to come to these stations because of legal , contract, and bills that would be needed to regulate it (this may happen once rail is fully conpleted years from now). The project itself has a "build it and they will come" mentality. Hence transit oriented development (meaning building homes and busineses around the rail station) is in its infancy. Also Oahu is limited in land, high in land regulations, and obstructed by budget limits and govt procetures that make it so difficult to emulate Asian and even Mainland standards. It's not that we dont know how to make a good rail system, it's just we are so limited in finacial and technical resources, and constraints with legal and govt red tape and policies. A lot of it contributed to leading to mismanagement and hence the long years of sorting the project through.

[@barrettish]

I appreciate the explanation! I figure the stores and homes around stations will come eventually, businesses would probably lose money if they were to set up and start operating right now. I’m hoping that new development/redevelopment is focused around the stations so there’s less sprawl, but maybe that’s wishful thinking. Hopefully things pan out!

[@shreychaudhary4477]

Why does the Ho'opoli development feel so "car-oriented" then? (lots of parking and stuff)

[@DaCombatDude]

The station doors look quite slow. If in the future, they expect millions to ride this thing then it has to be faster. Also disappointing it doesn't say your current amount in your card but I hope that is an easy fix.

[@barrettish]

@@DaCombatDude Yeah I figure these things can be fixed if needed. Gotta make it convenient to use first.

[@varixalint]

Closest ill get to riding it cuz i dont think ill ever have a reason to use it lol

[@barrettish]

lol same with most people right now I’m sure. They really need to make a sincere effort to making it useful and convenient.

[@scullysensei]

The rail to nowhere. Why doesn’t it go to Kapolei Mall?

[@barrettish]

I asked that too at the end of the video when I realized that. It’s crazy that the line ends one stop short of the mall and also doesn’t go to where a lot of the development is.

[@user-ux8hg8bk3e]

Allowing to pay by debt or credit card is the only advantage for Hawaii.

[@barrettish]

haha well, hard to compare!

[@user-ux8hg8bk3e]

@@barrettish Definitely not comparing!

[@c.a.5604]

Hawaii has a rail? Is it in the big island? Wasn't even aware! Ridership must be low as it's such a small island and you can go anywhere by car.

[@barrettish]

It’s on Oahu. It’s been around for one year or so but they started building in a part of the island that’s not really developed, it doesn’t go anywhere yet, and as you said, the city has been built for cars until now so catering things to the rail will take time.

[@c.a.5604]

@@barrettish Only been around for a year or so? Wow, that's relatively new...how come those ticketing machines look like they are from the 90s with no touch screens. As you said, may be for budget reasons. Anyway, thanks for the video.

[@elipandaman]

​@@barrettishit connects to the express A bus at aloha stadium though, which comes every 10 minutes and takes you right to downtown, ala moana, and UH. gotta think multimodal!

[@elipandaman]

​@@c.a.5604personally i hate touchscreens, and they're so easy to break. bring back analog buttons!

[@barrettish]

@@c.a.5604 Yeah probably budget and someone mentioned people will likely vandalize the touchscreens which is sad. Thanks for watching!

[@EDGELEAK]

no 5 minute cities here(good thing)

[@barrettish]

What’s a 5 minute city?

[@EDGELEAK]

@@barrettish i meant 15 minute city. But just youtube/google WEF 15 minute cities. Have fun lol

[@barrettish]

@@EDGELEAK I think having more daily necessities and conveniences closer to stations would make everyday life more convenient. Of course not everything would be around every station, but it’d have a net positive impact overall. That’s what I’ve experienced at least.

[@DaCombatDude]

5 minute city means you can do a bunch of things 5 minutes away from your home (work, fun, doctors, etc). It's exactly what you have in dense cities in Japan. People have twisted 5 minute cities to mean that you are locked 5 minutes away from your home which makes no sense.

[@barrettish]

@@DaCombatDude That’s weird to twist it that way. I found having conveniences nearby to be a good thing lifestyle-wise, and there’s more foot traffic which seems better for businesses.

[@mojospree1375]

Hawaii would've been better off giving a $10,000 stimulus check to every Hawaii resident instead of building the rail. At least that would've been cheaper for the state.

[@barrettish]

Vegas might be the biggest beneficiary if that’d happen. At least they can do things that can increase the ROI of this project, I’m just not sure if the right things will be done in order for that to happen though.

[@Keliiyamashita]

250k per day to maintain😂

[@barrettish]

😲

[@Insomniac-c7e]

As compared to the busses? The rail has no driver or use of gas. The transit system is not meant to be a money making project. Even the head guy said transit systems don't make money. They are there for convenience and to help alleviate traffic. The busses run continuously also even when there are no riders.

[@poodlescone9700]

This train is magnitudes better than the dirty Muni and BART trains in the SF Bay Area.

[@barrettish]

Yeah for sure. I haven’t rode the new BART trains but I think this one would be better too.

[@James-sn5mg]

Hawaii is undeveloped and everything is downgrade compared to any developed countries. Why would you go to Hawaii to experience it?

[@barrettish]

In ways, yes. I wouldn’t say “undeveloped” since it is developed, but there’s infrastructure problems for sure. As I said in the video, it’s my hometown so I was curious to experience it.

[@James-sn5mg]

​@@barrettishI used to live there. It's a 3rd world country. People like you are always sugarcoating it. Abundant number of criminals and tons of uncivilized knuckleheads. The whole island is hooked on drugs. 😂

[@James-sn5mg]

​@barrettish Hawaii locals are all hooked on drugs and crime is rampant over there.

[@James-sn5mg]

@@barrettish Homelessness everywhere, all Hawaii locals are on crack and hooked on drugs. I never met a local that doesn't do drugs. Kids are uneducated and violent. You will get bullied by the hands of hawaiian kids in public schools. Street bums and shady people are all over the street. You will encounter them everyday and they ask "HEY BRUH I LIKE DOLLA, You no more dollah? I like dolla. Lmao. A good chunk of Hawaii's population is comprised of people from goddamn 3rd world countries. Jobs are completely run by nepotism. You gotta know people and sleep with your boss to get it. There's no Aloha whatsoever. Most locals are unfriendly, unwelcoming uncivilized folks who hate on tourist, folks from other countries and dudes from the Mainland. It's the most racist place on earth. People there have crappy music taste with reggae being the only thing they listen to. Dude come on, stop it. You locals always sugarcoat it like some kind of paradise but it's in fact a god-forsaken island.

[@soupbums]

What a waste it's not going all the way to Waikiki or uh 👎

[@barrettish]

Not even to Ala Moana I heard…

[@elpereira5161]

Its a state run by Democrats that's why it goes nowhere

[@kingcobrahs]

Our rail is a joke

[@barrettish]

What do you think they should do to make it better?

[@Insomniac-c7e]

Once it's completed it should be better with more riders.

[@ericyoung8989]

@@barrettishthey should have started from the airports d went both ways towards the stadium and towards Waikiki, that way residence can park and ride at the stadium and tourists can ride it into Waikiki to stay at hotels

[@ashho313]

Laugh out loud.

[@barrettish]

At?