Will rail be empty during off hours?

I can’t remember if the city and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation asked in a survey how many people would be using the rail during the morning rush to work and school, and during the rush home.

Also, once the morning and evening rush has diminished, how many people would be using the rail?

Another question is how many people would be using the rail during the weekend and on holidays. A significant number of"yes" answers versus "no" answers would give a better indication if rail is worth the cost.

Richard Lee
Fort Ruger

Bus route change foiled living plans

My husband and I are faithful supporters of TheBus. We do not own an automobile, yet we both have full-time jobs and engage in many outside activities. We get to and from work and all activities on TheBus.

This past June, we moved from Aiea to Waikiki. A large part of our decision to move was that I would be able to safely catch the E Country Express bus from Waikiki to Waipahu, where I am a teacher. I was more than a little disappointed to learn that one month after our move, TheBus decided to cancel the E Country Express route. I now leave earlier to walk to the Ala Moana bus station in order to catch another bus.

This is neither pleasant nor safe for a young woman. I am strongly considering purchasing an automobile, as I realize I can no longer count on TheBus.

Lesson learned: Don’t make life decisions that include relying on catching a particular bus.

Cheryl Hewes
Waikiki

Rail will be refuge from driver insanity

What has happened to driving with aloha?

During my nightly 11⁄2-hour traffic commute from Chinatown to Ewa, three lanes of a luxurious six are under construction. Large signs clearly indicate the merge with plenty of notice. Yet I witness driving trends nightly that make me want to hold a sign of my own out my window. There is no aloha. Many drivers ignore signs to merge until the last moment when cones appear. Others do not allow space for cars to safely merge.

I tried an experiment, leaving plenty of room for cars to merge, and counted just two out of 45 cars that actually made the move.

Drivers who make nightly commutes in construction should drive with consideration so everyone can get home quickly and safely. I’d take rail to avoid such insanity any day.

Kristen Padden
Ewa Beach

Make my day; oust pro-rail politicians

Clint Eastwood’s signature phrase at the Republican Convention: Go ahead. Make my day.

He reminded me that we hire our federal, state and local politicians. They work for us. If they can’t do the job, we can fire them.

Remember this on Election Day and vote to fire the folks who wasted so much of our money on the Honolulu rail project.

James Arcate
Manoa

HECO should share PV gains with DOE

The public schools in Hawaii would really benefit if Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) would give them all or a major portion of the unearned revenues the company derives from excess electric energy produced by residential photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Currently, the only beneficiary of this income generated by the overproduction of energy by PV systems is HECO. No matter how much energy in excess of that utilized by PV system owners each month, they do not get any financial compensation from HECO for the overproduction.

The net energy metering regulations written by HECO and accepted by the state Public Utilities Commission does not "permit" HECO to automatically share revenue with the PV system owners for the excess energy produced, nor prevent them from attaching a minimum billing charge, no matter how much income a residential PV system owner generates for them.

I’m sure that if HECO did this, the PV system owners would be very happy with this gesture.

Walter M. Takeuchi
Aiea

Planners too often ignore the public

What about us — the residents who live next to the $200 million Kapalama Container Terminal the state is planning on building in the near future? We will have to endure the noise, smell and traffic 24/7.

Why were we not included on an advisory board made up of benefiting businesses? The state of Hawaii did include us residents in information sessions later — after the decision to build was final.

And I don’t think the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board No. 15’s June 20 decision to oppose the project will change anything.

Hundreds of businesses in the Kapalama Military Reservation will be displaced as well.

Again, recent state decisions make us residents wonder: What about us?

Tom Enos
Kalihi

Water board stingy with information

I was one of the victims of Wednesday’s water main break in Kaneohe.

It is extremely difficult to contact the Honolulu Board of Water Supply for information about the break or when it might be repaired. I talked to them nearly 10 hours after the break occurred, and they said theyhad not had any updates for hours from the crew. This in the day of instantaneous communication everywhere.

It turns out that the break was in a line that had suffered a similar event about a year ago and less than a mile from the site of that break. Wouldn’t you think following a break in the very same line as a year earlierthey would start checking that same line immediately?

Forgetrail and spend the money fixingthe sewers, water mains androads. Railmight not solveLeeward Oahu’s traffic problem anyway, but all of us are affected by the infrastructure problem.

James V. Pollock
Kaneohe