City officials head to Europe to look at transit
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer
A delegation of city officials, consultants and at least two City Council members plan a 10-day trip to Europe next month to check out new mass transit systems. The trip will cost about $60,000.
City Transportation Services Director Cheryl Soon said about 15 people plan to make the trip at a cost of about $4,000 a person. Fees for the council members will be paid for from federal money, Soon said, and money from the city's transportation budget will pay for the rest of the city officials.
Honolulu has struggled with developing a mass transit plan for years. The city's latest transportation plan emphasizes a bus-rapid transit combination built on a system with routes emanating from transit center hubs. Over 25 years, the plan will cost about $1 billion, the city estimates.
The travel schedule takes the group to:
• France. From Sept. 16-18, officials will start in Paris and head for Rouen to tour the TEOR Bus Rapid Transit System. They also will visit the Irisbus in Lyon. The Irisbus system includes a rubber-tired tram that can be powered by diesel, hybrid or electric drive. The company sells it as a cheaper alternative to light rail.
• Germany. From Sept. 19-21, officials will visit Karlsruhe, Germany, where environmentally-friendly technology for mass transit is emphasized.
• Italy. From Sept. 22-26, the group will have two days of free time followed by a two-day examination of the STREAM System Technology in Trieste. Honolulu officials are especially interested in the system because the vehicles are electric, with power channeled through plates imbedded in the road.
Soon said the European trip is valuable in helping officials determine which technology to choose by next year.
"The state of the art in vehicle design is changing rapidly," she said. Soon traveled to Brazil last year as part of a city delegation that included Mayor Jeremy Harris and City Council members Jon Yoshimura, Duke Bainum and Romy Cachola.
"I think it makes all the difference in the world to kind of see what the ride quality is, to see how they're actually constructing in the street, " Soon said.
Soon said the 1.9 mile-system in Trieste is the first commercial installation of the technology and began running just in July.
Bainum, chairman of the Council Transportation Committee, said he was planning to go but changed his mind this week because his schedule is too full.
Council member Gary Okino is planning to go, and Cachola said he is considering making the trip. Both said their districts would be affected by the proposed transit system. No other Council members have said they are making the trip.
Two members of the city's transportation commission and some city consultants and project managers also plan to go.
Bainum said the visit would be valuable to city decision-makers and he plans to see the systems on his own later this year. "We're committing $1 billion," Bainum said. "This is going to be the primary means of transportation for the next 15 to 20 years."
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
