Many criticisms of the rail project have been raised: the lack of transparency in the process; the low-balling of the cost, especially the annual maintenance cost; and the negative aesthetic impact on our island’s beauty. But I have seen nothing about the psychological reasons why this largest public works in Hawaii is ill-advised. And it’s all to do with the perception of supply and demand.
I first encountered the term "lateral thinking" as an undergraduate in a story about a skyscraper where the complaints about the wait for elevators were mounting to a crisis. There was no room in the lobby for more elevators, so management was looking at adding elevators to the outside of the building at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then an employee came up with a solution that cost about $600.
The answer? Floor-to-ceiling mirrors were placed all around the elevator lobby. People became so enamored at looking at themselves and others that they didn’t mind the wait.
The employee understood that the problem wasn’t lack of elevators but the complaint about the wait. So instead of the expensive supply solution, he chose a demand solution.
Rail is a "supply" solution on an island with limited land. Yes, it will give lots of work to the unions, landowners and highly paid consultants, but it has worked only in larger cities where the people live in suburbs and having a car in the metropolis is a liability — think New York City or London. You take a train into the city for work and back out for home.
Hawaii is vastly different. Here we have one of the highest percentages of two-earner families of any state. We have to go to two, maybe three, jobs, pick up Doug at acting class and Susie at kick-boxing.
The problem can be summarized: "The demand for a free, or perceived free, service is infinite." Driving isn’t free — we have the highest gas tax in the country, plus car registration fees — but it seems free so "let’s cruise!"
When my late wife was a Navy nurse at Parris Island, S.C., in the early ’70s, the ER was flooded with non-emergency cases because it was "free." When it instituted a 50-cent charge, admissions dropped by 50 percent. The same principle underlies the co-payment when you go to the doctor. If you are really sick, you’ll pay the $15, but if not, you’ll think twice.
So why not look at a much cheaper "demand" solution? One comes quickly to mind: Although I have lived here for more than half my life, I was born and raised in New England. Those states have successfully managed highway traffic through EZ-Pass, which uses an electronic device in your car to deduct a toll when you pass through the sensors. Every month or so your credit card is charged $20. No toll-takers are needed.
To those who say this will penalize the poor, the toll can be set to anything — a dime, a quarter or a dollar, depending on location and time of day.
It’s time for Oahu to "lateral think," get outside the box and avoid this terribly expensive "solution" — which isn’t a solution.
