Finally, we are able to move forward.

In the end, the City Council's contortions over transit on Friday produced a sensible vote: an endorsement for a fixed-guideway system linking Kapolei with the University of Hawai'i's Manoa campus.

But, oh, what a roller-coaster ride. Considering Honolulu's history of fumbling the transit question over the decades, it's natural for supporters to feel relief when the ride finally ended. But anyone who witnessed the process may feel a bit nauseated, too.

First, let's celebrate. We can count the timely decision — committing to the system before Jan. 1, when the tax to finance it begins — as a sort of Christmas present. Now the council and the city administration can move ahead to refine the planning, fine-tune the route and proceed with blueprints guiding development at the various rail stops.

Last year, state lawmakers authorized an O'ahu surcharge of one-half percent in the state excise tax to pay for the transit project. This money will raise up to $230 million a year toward the cost of the project, estimated at between $3.8 billion and $4.6 billion.

But taxpayers also should know what they're paying for — which is why Friday's vote was essential. And taking this step puts the city on more favorable footing in terms of securing the federal funds needed to supplement the state's own taxpayer support.

Without diminishing the current wave of euphoria, there's still considerable cause for concern.

Watching the City Council conduct the hearing would leave anyone frustrated with the chaotic process. Before packed chambers, the council wavered over how to proceed to a vote. There was a proposed amendment — Councilmember Ann Kobayashi's idea to combine elements of two route proposals — that very nearly forced the council to postpone a vote until Tuesday.

The eleventh-hour twist was infuriating. This last-minute tinkering delayed the decisionmaking unnecessarily. Perhaps the complaints of the testifiers at the hearing, or her council colleagues, persuaded Kobayashi to sensibly withdraw the amendment. Whatever the reason, it was a relief that the council finally returned to the business at hand and voted, 7-2.

Compounding the indecisiveness was the confusion. The sight of councilmembers breaking for short recesses to sort out the right way to proceed was distressing, to say the least. Shifting the discussion away from the public view, for any reason, is an option that should be exercised only rarely, and with caution. Transparency is crucial.

And O'ahu's taxpayers deserve more rational decision-making from their leaders.