By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Honolulu's push for a Bus Rapid Transit system is moving forward, step by step. It's probably the biggest single transit initiative we'll see here for at least a decade, so it's worth paying attention even when the news about the plan isn't truly momentous.

Last week, City Council members held a public hearing on one small aspect of the proposed rapid-transit system, creating a symbol that would identify the proposed transit route on the city's Development Plan Public Facilities Map.

In the bureaucratic mix of things, that's a necessary move at some point but hardly up there with a hearing later in the week in which the council heard testimony on paying for the initial $35 million the system needs to get up and running.

Even so, there was a crowd at the first hearing, eager to get their two cents' and two minutes' worth of time to voice their concerns, pro and con, about the project, which could take almost 10 years and $1 billion to implement.

When done, the BRT would see buses running every few minutes on exclusive and semi-exclusive lanes from Kapolei to Waikiki, speeding commuting time for mass transit, but possibly slowing drive time for other vehicles.

Testimony at last week's hearing ran about 2-to-1 in favor of the transit plan, which has been the subject of hundreds of previous community and political meetings but just now seems to be reaching the public consciousness.

In general, supporters appeared to be community groups and government agencies that have been involved in the BRT planning process all along; they included the likes of the city Transportation Commission members, Waikiki Improvement Association, Chinatown Merchants Association, the Land Use Research Institute and the Sierra Club.

"Transit on O'ahu is really a quality of life issue," said Sierra Club spokesman Jeff Mikulina, who seemed to sum up the supporters' position by saying the BRT will give residents more mobility, faster commuting times and help the environment by getting more cars off the road.

Opponents tend to be individual residents who have just become aware of the plan in the past year and think the new buses are an expensive, unnecessary addition to an already fine bus system and worry about the impact on the vast majority of commuters who do not take the bus now.

"We already have a great bus system," said Waikiki resident Burt Goldenburg, "Why do we have to spend lots of money and take lots of risks trying to improve on it?"

In the end, several council members said they didn't hear any new arguments for or against the system during the more than two hours of testimony from more than 40 people.

Ironically, though, several truck drivers and Waikiki business owners I talked to last week who would be directly affected by the construction, changes in traffic patterns and loss of parking and loading zones given over to the buses said they hadn't even heard of the proposal.

Which is reason enough to keep holding hearings and keep talking about BRT, the future of transit in Honolulu.

Mike Leidemann's Drive Time column appears every Tuesday. Reach him at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.