With the first half of Skyline up and running for nearly a year now, more Oahu taxpayers really should be rail-riding between East Kapolei and Halawa. After all, we’re all paying for it.

Underscoring this is the just-approved city budget for fiscal year 2025, which has the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s operating budget at $138.3 million, a 27% increase over the current $109.2 million. Another $574 million is being allocated for its capital budget (construction and facilities), of which $250 million is supposed to be covered by a federal grants fund.