Skyline ridership declines in third week of business

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM / JUNE 30

A westbound Skyline train leaves the Waipahu station.

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Rail ridership aboard the city’s new Skyline rail system continued to fall in its third week of operation, according to the city.

In the six days beginning July 15 through Thursday, 19,069 people paid to ride rail.

By comparison, 18,329 passengers rode Skyline over the initial five days of paid ridership.

Skyline opened for free rides on June 30 through July 4 with 71,722 passengers.

The numbers of paying passengers dropped each day last week compared with the same day from the previous week to:

>> 2,974 on Thursday from 3,203 on the preceding Thursday.

>> 2,615 on Wednesday from 3,276 on the preceding Wednesday.

>> 3,973 on Sunday from 4,312 on the preceding Sunday.

>> 3,694 on July 15 from 4,141 on the preceding Saturday.

On Tuesday, 2,937 passengers paid to ride rail. The week before, 18,108 rode for free.

On Monday, 2,875 people rode Skyline, compared with 12,946 the week before who rode for free.

The number of paid passengers — and how much revenue they generate for the city — will determine how big of a budget shortfall rail will face for current and future operational and maintenance costs, just like other rail systems around the country, according to the Federal Transit Administration.

Roger Morton, director of the Department of Transportation Services, which operates rail for the city, previously said the contract with Hitachi Rail is for $54 million annually, in addition to $75 million in operational costs including electricity.

DTS expects paid ridership to pick up when school resumes.

Morton has forecast daily paid ridership will then grow to about 8,000 to 10,000 passengers by the end of this year, followed by 25,000 daily riders when the next segment extends from Halawa station past Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to Middle Street. Ridership is then expected to grow to about 85,000 per day when the final segment opens to Kakaako.

Rail currently runs 11 miles from East Kapolei to Halawa through nine stations. Construction is projected to cost $9.8 billion when it reaches the end of the line in Kakaako in 2031.