Traffic congestion is killing our quality of life. We have nearly 700,000 vehicles on O'ahu, a figure that's getting alarmingly close to one for every person on the island. And, it seems, all are on the road during rush hour.

For many of us, traffic jams are a seven-day-a-week proposition. And it's getting worse.

A recent O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization traffic study projected that our morning rush hour would double to 80 minutes or more by 2030, with commuters from the Leeward Coast suffering up to four hours a day in traffic.

It's clear that we need to tackle the problem now by developing a multimodal transportation system that will efficiently carry large numbers of commuters, slow the growth of traffic and allow for sensible development of O'ahu in the years to come.

In addition to better use of our roads and buses and the creation of a commuter ferry, rail transit is the most promising solution.

Every mayor since Neal Blaisdell, and at least two governors, has advocated some sort of rail system for O'ahu.

Gov. John Waihee, in 1990, called for a half-percentage-point hike in the general excise tax to allow the counties to pay for transit projects, including the city's proposed rail line. Gov. Linda Lingle and her task force, which explored transportation solutions for O'ahu commuters, announced in October 2003 that a fixed-rail system was the only project capable of having a significant impact on congestion.

While O'ahuans continue to dicker over the right path to relieve traffic congestion, other municipalities are making the bold move to construct new light rail systems.

These cities realize that rail is the only way to move large numbers of people to their destinations on time, and the only way to slow the growth of traffic.

The Legislature sent the governor a measure, House Bill 1309, which would allow each county to assess an additional half-percentage-point general excise tax to underwrite transportation improvements.

Some opponents of the measure argue that this would represent the largest tax hike in Hawai'i's history. Not so. That distinction belongs to the 1963 increase, which raised the excise tax from 3 percent to 4 percent. Yes, it still represents a tax increase, but one that I believe O'ahu residents are willing to pay because it will result in a direct, tangible impact on traffic and our very quality of life.