City officials will open the gates at the first nine rail stations for free rides on June 30, meaning it will be impossible to get an accurate count of exactly how many passengers show up to ride the rail line in person.
The first free rides are scheduled to be offered 2 to 6 p.m. on June 30 without the use of a HOLO card, which will be needed from then on to open station gates.
Riders also will still not have to pay July 1 through July 4, but will need to buy a $2 HOLO card and load it with at least $3 more to get into each station, although fares will not be deducted.
City officials at the rail’s operations center near Leeward Community College and Waipahu High School on Thursday declined to speculate how many riders they expect on June 30 after years of preparation for the opening of rail service to the public.
The opening represents a new era of public transportation on Oahu for riders who want to transfer from city buses to ride the 11-mile, nine-station rail route from Kualaka‘i station in East Kapolei to the Halawa station near Aloha Stadium. Limited parking is available at only three of the nine stations.
Jon Nouchi, deputy director of the city’s Department of Transportation Services that’s now responsible for running the system, advised rail riders to not lean on or block train doors and to let passengers out before boarding, which can cause “unintentional delays” along the system.
“We don’t come from a rail culture here,” Nouchi said. “Let passengers out first. … Elevator etiquette applies.”
Food and drinks are not allowed on board so that the trains can remain clean. Otherwise, passengers should follow common sense and general airline prohibitions about what they should and should not bring onto each of the five, four-car trains that initially will be running, said DTS Director Roger Morton.
In general, Morton said, passengers should follow “common social norms.”
Strollers and luggage are allowed, for example. Weapons and dangerous chemicals are not, Morton said.
At least 15 city volunteers — dressed in matching aloha shirts with an as-yet, unspecified special logo — are expected to assist rail passengers with questions at each station, Morton said.
Behind the scenes, the rail system continues to run 24/7 with operation center staff monitoring the system while mechanics continue the upkeep on the first 19 of 20 expected trains.
There are train controllers, yard controllers, security controllers and others focused on specific aspects of rail operations.
Trespassers and would-be vandals also face automated “intrusion detection alarms,” roaming human patrols and 1,500 cameras monitored by controllers inside the rail operations center.
Anyone causing trouble in a station or on a train also will be tracked, including by 44 security cameras aboard every train, said Jason Lurz, head of operations and maintenance for North America for Hitachi Rail Honolulu.
Passengers who hit special emergency buttons on each train to talk to a human will automatically have the car’s nearest camera pointed at the area around the button.
Even suspicious packages will be monitored, said J.R. Carino, the operations center manager.
Like other operations center controllers, Carino received his initial training through the Hawaii Air National Guard as an air traffic controller, where he still serves at Kalaeloa along with other rail operation center controllers. Others served as air traffic controllers for the Army and Navy, he said.
The system has been designed with seismic detectors in case of earthquakes to temporarily shut it down until assessments can be made, along with backup generators to keep it running in case of power outages.
Honolulu police have been running through various rail scenarios for months and 20 officers with the department’s Specialized Services Division toured trains inside the rail system’s Operations Services Building on Thursday.
HOW TO RIDE THE RAIL
>> The public can ride the first phase of the rail station for free and without a HOLO card from 2 to 6 p.m June 30. The first phase covers an 11-mile, nine station route from Kualaka‘i station in East Kapolei to the Halawa station near Aloha Stadium.
>> All stations close at 7 p.m. But in order to ride the full length, passengers must board by 6 p.m. June 30.
>> From July 1-4, rides are free with a valid HOLO card. New HOLO cards cost $2 and there is a $3 minimum to load the card. Riders must tap the HOLO card at fare gates to enter the individual stations, but fares will not be deducted from their cards.
>> HOLO cards can be purchased at local retailers, rail station ticket vending machines at each rail station entrance or TheBus Pass Office. Senior, disability and youth riders can apply for a reduced-fare HOLO card at TheBus Pass Office at the Kahili Transit Center. Visit www.thebus.org for HOLO card application requirements. For more information about HOLO cards and a list of retailers that sell them, visit www.holocard.net or call (808) 768-4656.
>> TheBus will be providing free rides to all riders July 1-4. Beginning July 1, TheBus will provide new routes to the rail stations.
>> Only three of the nine stations have parking. The Halawa station at Aloha Stadium has 580 spaces, the Keone‘ae station at the University of Hawaii—West Oahu has 304 spaces and the Honouliuli station at Ho‘opili has 344 spaces for passengers who want to park before boarding trains. Parking is free and the parking lots will close when the stations close.
>> Weekend and holiday hours are 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. and weekday hours are 5 a.m. – 7 p.m. During its opening weekend, rail will only operate its weekday hours July 3.
>> After the opening weekend, fares for rail will follow the same fare structure as TheBus. One tap of the HOLO card will allow riders to enter the station and board the next available train. Once the rider taps their card, they will be given a transfer, which allows them to board another train or TheBus, without being charged for 2.5 hours.
>> Single fares after the free tryout period will be $3 for adults, $1.50 for youth (6-17) and $1.25 for seniors (65 and over).
>> For more information about fares, visit www.honolulu.gov/rail or www.thebus.org.
Source: Honolulu Department of Transportation Services
