A rush-hour commute from east Kapolei to Ala Moana Center would take about 40 minutes and cost passengers $2 via Honolulu's planned "fixed guideway" transit system.

That's compared with a current commute that can easily take more than an hour.

The 20-mile route will have 19 stops where trains pause for 20 seconds to let passenger on and off. Trains will run from 4 a.m. to midnight at an average speed of 30 mph and a top speed of 50 mph.

Those and other details of the planned mass-transit system were recently disclosed in information sent to prospective vendors on the $3.7 billion project. The so-called Request for Information issued by the city sets the ground rules for how the system is to operate and outlines the performance specifications.

The system will have a maximum capacity of 9,000 passengers per hour per direction. The noise level at station platforms cannot exceed the noise emitted by a leaf blower.

The city has about 100 different criteria covering everything from cost and speed to safety and appearance.

A newly formed panel of experts is now reviewing proposals from 12 vendors and will deliver a recommendation to the City Council by the end of this month.

"There's a long litany of criteria," said Panos Prevedouros, who is one of five experts on the transit technology panel. "Thirty days may be a little too tight because there's too much to read and to really check all these parameters."

The 12 interested companies — which include multinationals such as Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Siemens and Bombardier — are vying for a projected $230 million vehicle sales contract from the city.

The city is considering four technology options: steel wheels on a steel rail; rubber tires on concrete; monorail technology; and a magnetic levitation system.

EVALUATING THE OPTIONS

Each of the various technologies has its pros and cons.

For example, magnetic levitation technology promises the quietest ride — a trait neighbors may find most valuable. However, such technology is expensive to install and normally is used to cross long distances at aircraft-type speeds.

Monorail vehicles, which can include magnetic levitation, may be a more aesthetically appealing alternative because the vehicles can be relatively small. Monorail vehicles, which typically use rubber tires, also are quiet. However, monorail technology may not meet the performance specifications for Honolulu's planned project.

For example, Hitachi, which so far is the only potential monorail bidder, says on brochures that its vehicles have an acceleration rate and braking rate that are both shy of a city-requirement of 3 miles per hour per second. The 3 mph per second criteria is needed to achieve an average speed of 30 mph over the 19-stop, 20-mile route.

Ultimately, the city's technology of choice will depend on the criteria deemed most important.

"It's a trade-off," said Peter Flachsbart, who teaches urban and regional planning at the University of Hawai'i. "In choosing a technology, you're favoring one criterion over another. The maglev system will be quieter (but) by picking a quieter system, what do you sacrifice on other criteria?"

Decision-makers will need to decide which factors best suit Honolulu's needs and concerns, said Flachsbart, who worked as a consultant on the city's aborted transit plan in 1992.

"That's what I'd be looking at — which of those criteria are more important to Honolulu?" he said.

Groundbreaking on the mass-transit system could occur next year, with the first Kapolei to Waipahu segment possibly operating in 2012. The project is being financed by a half-percentage-point general excise tax surcharge and an estimated $700 million in federal funds. Through December, the state collected $148.5 million from the tax surcharge.

CASTING A 'BROAD NET'

Speed and cost are the most important factors in deciding which type of transit technology to use, said West O'ahu Councilman Todd Apo. Next comes concerns such as appearance.

"Make sure you have the reliability, the speed, the capacity that will make your system not just rideable but so desirable that people will in fact use it," he said. "It is going to be a choice for people to use."

Apo, who said he's traveled via all four transit technologies, said they all offer a relatively smooth ride when compared with The Bus or older rail technologies.

"A lot of people have the mentality of the old subway system, which is a really jog-you-around-type of ride," he said. "With these newer technologies, such as these elevated outdoor systems, it can be a pretty nice ride."

Rubber on concrete and steel wheels on steel rail are more widely used technologies than magnetic levitation and monorail. Costly technologies such as magnetic levitation are being considered because, "We wanted to cast a broad net," Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said during a state Legislature briefing Friday. "Our feeling was this, let's do (the technology selection) in such a way that no one can accuse us that we were biased from the beginning or that we had a preconceived selection."

Council members have ultimate authority to decide which transit technology Honolulu will use — a decision that's likely to hinge on the selection of the panel that includes Prevedouros and four Mainland experts.

If council members decide to select a different technology, the Legislature should pull funding for the project, Hannemann said.

"You should consider very seriously revoking the (general excise) tax increase" in that case, Hannemann said. "You should."

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.