More than a hundred people attended an 8:30 a.m. community meeting at Kapolei Hale yesterday to learn details about the city's proposed multibillion-dollar rail transit system.

Saying, "We need to hear from you," Mayor Mufi Hannemann told the gathering the purpose of the workshop was for city officials to address residents' questions about the rail system and other alternative proposals.

The meeting was the first in a round of public rail forums the city will hold on the rail system. The City Council will select a "locally preferred alternative" in December.

In addition to information panels around the room, fliers printed in 10 languages, and a monitor showing a simulated flyover of the proposed rail route, Mark Scheibe, project manager for consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff, gave a detailed PowerPoint presentation.

Scheibe's presentation highlighted the proposed 23-mile rail corridor between Kapolei and Manoa as well as detailed all the alternatives, including an improved bus system, toll roads, the rail transit system, and a "no build" alternative, which the mayor said he considers "unconscionable."

Projections indicate that by 2030, 93 percent of O'ahu's new population and 95 percent of the island's new jobs would be within the 23-mile corridor.

Government estimates for the cost of building the rail transit system are about $3 billion. Rider estimates are predicted of up to 150,000 people a day by the year 2030.

Scheibe said the government is much better at making cost and rider estimates than it was in previous decades, which typically underestimated the taxpayer cost tag while overestimating the number of riders.

Hannemann has made no secret that he strongly favors building a rail system, although he said it's important that the public considers all options.

But he told the gathering that 14 years ago the city forfeited $600 million in federal funding after rejecting a rail transit system. That money instead went to other cities nationwide, Hannemann said.

"I don't want it to happen again," he said. "I've assured Sen. Inouye and Congressman Abercrombie and others in Washington, D.C., that Honolulu is poised and ready to move forward. We want a mass-transit solution for O'ahu."

However, during a question-and-answer session with the crowd, Glenn Oamicda of 'Ewa Beach questioned the wisdom of building a rail transit system designed to move masses of people toward Honolulu when the mayor's consultants had just said the thrust of O'ahu's jobs, commerce and residents would increasingly be aimed Leeward.

"We have strong opposition to this rail, and I think it will get stronger as time goes by," said Oamicda, who said the city has yet to deal with the 'Ewa Plain's mounting traffic gridlock problem.

"Is it prudent?"

But the mayor received a round of applause from many when he said, "The majority of the people on this side of the island want us to do some kind of mass-transit system — and they want it now.

"My answer to you is yes, it is prudent," Hannemann told Oamicda. "I believe you represent a minority of opinion on this side of the island. I'm sorry, but in my humble opinion, I do."

Among those who applauded the mayor was Gary Bautista of 'Ewa Village.

"I am in favor of the rail transit system," Bautista said. "There's not enough land to do the other alternatives."

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.