OCTOBER 2019 RAIL REPORT
A number of national studies have been conducted to identify which cities in the United States are most impacted by congestion. One such study conducted by Insurify, a website that compares auto insurance
rates, ranks Honolulu as having the 9th worst traffic among cities in the U.S. with a congestion level of 28% and average commute time of just under 30 minutes.
Another study done by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that the average Oahu driver spends 64 hours ― or more than two and half days ― in congestion each year, which is up from 53 hours of congestion annually in 2009, and 29 hours annually in 1989. This study estimates that congestion costs the
average Oahu commuter $1,260 a year, including an additional 29 gallons of gas.
Multiplied by all Oahu’s drivers that translates to $689 million in congestion costs annually and 15.7 million gallons of wasted fuel.
And it gets worse for those who live farther from urban Honolulu. Another Oahu study shows the number of people who spend 90 minutes or more each way commuting to work grew by almost 82% over the last decade.
These drivers, called “super commuters,” are spending three hours or more traveling to and from their jobs each and every day. And an accident or bad weather can extend their travel times even more.
Commute times have an effect on everything from the job market to housing, as people who can’t afford to live in the
Once up and running, rail will provide a safe, reliable, and efficient transportation option for commuting which will become an important component of the city’s public transit system, serving the needs of the people of Honolulu. The travel time for rail between Kapolei and Ala Moana Center will be 42 minutes, including stops at each station.
affordable housing opportunities for island residents who would also have easy access to public transportation for commuting to and from work, to schools, shopping or other activities.
For more information, please visit the HART website at www.honolulutransit.org, you can call the project hotline at 566-2299 or email a question to info@honolulutransit.org.
OCTOBER 2019 ROAD CLOSURES (DAY)