I had a car repair near the end of Dillingham Boulevard and checked the city bus schedule to see where I might go to kill a few hours.

I was near the Middle Street transit center and options were many; buses came down Dillingham every few minutes with convenient service to downtown, the civic center, Kakaako, Ala Moana Center, Waikiki and the University of Hawaii.

It further convinced me that it’s a viable option to stop Oahu rail — now at $6.57 billion and rising — at Middle Street or Aala Park instead of continuing to Ala Moana Center.

This sensible compromise controls the financial bleeding while still providing a useful transportation option that flies West Oahu commuters over the gridlocked H-1 and feeds them into established bus routes that go wherever they need in the city.

Avoiding rail construction in the city center saves immense building costs, traffic snarls, business disruptions, archaeological disturbance and visual blight.

Under the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s existing plan, those going beyond Ala Moana must transfer to a bus anyway.

Any change concerns involving the $1.55 billion federal share can likely be resolved in a way that saves us billions from where costs now appear to be heading.

If rail is $1.3 billion over budget after building only 4 miles of guideway through empty farmland, imagine the overruns in building the remaining 16 miles and 21 stations in dense population.

There are small signs that the possibility of shortening the route is gaining traction among lawmakers.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell still supports completing the full line, but now proposes that the first operational phase, planned to run from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium, be extended to Middle Street.

He argues reasonably that it’ll attract more riders by including major stops at Pearl Harbor, the airport and the Middle Street buses that can take them farther east.

Unsaid, but key, is that Middle Street is a far better bailout point than Aloha Stadium if costs keep soaring and the Legislature and City Council refuse more funding.

City Council Chairman Ernie Martin, who is skeptical of further extending the half-cent excise tax for rail, recently said he’s open to shortening the route.

Colleen Hanabusa, the savvy former legislator and new member of the HART board, is concerned that after years of promising the project would be on time and on budget, HART still can’t say how much rail will finally cost.

She doesn’t favor a shorter line, but acknowledges that HART may have no choice if it runs out of money.

As the City Council deliberates how far it’s willing to extend the excise tax, it should strongly encourage HART to hold back on property acquisitions and construction contracts beyond Middle Street until the finances are more clear.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.