The City Council's transit vote tomorrow will define the first 20 miles of Honolulu's new fixed guideway system — the "minimum operating segment."

Understandably, the Hannemann administration wants to avoid delays and see the council approve its plan. That route, which meets the guidelines set by the Federal Transit Administration, starts at North-South Road in Kapolei, continues to the airport, and ends at Ala Moana Center. But it fails to include the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, which attracts much of the traffic coming from the west side.

An amendment to be introduced by Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz tomorrow presents a worthy alternative that would begin further east at Fort Weaver Road and end at the university. It addresses a major source of traffic by sensibly including UH-Manoa in the first phase. The plan would also enable, at a later date, greater participation by developers in the financing of the transit links further west from Fort Weaver Road to the Kapolei Parkway.

City spokesman Bill Brennan counters that by beginning at Fort Weaver, the amended starting route does not provide as much relief to West O'ahu commuters as the Kapolei-to-Ala Moana route. Breaking ground in the less-developed west side also creates fewer construction problems compared with bringing the project into Manoa. And, Brennan added, the city would still be able to seek leverage with developers to build the transit stops under its proposed minimum route.

The administration's plan is also the only one that passes the FTA's cost-effectiveness standard — but that's because the alternative Fort Weaver Road-to-UH route was never studied.

To find the best initital phase for this project, the council should have all the information it needs — which includes a cost-effectiveness study on Dela Cruz's UH route. The consulting firm Parsons Brinkerhoff has already been paid $10 million to assist the city and can easily do the study within a month's time, and at no additional cost, according to Mark Scheibe, project manager for Parsons Brinkerhoff. He also said a short delay would not pose a threat to federal funding.

If that's true, let's get all the information so the best decision can be made. Including UH, a major commuter terminus, in the minimal operating segment makes sense if the goal is to help alleviate our congested roads.