The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is budgeting nearly $86 million to buy 63 properties in the next fiscal year as part of an accelerating land acquisition program for the 20-mile rail line.
That effort will also require the relocation of an estimated 14 businesses, although city officials said they could not immediately identify the companies that will have to move.
In another development, a top rail official said Thursday he is committed to providing wireless Internet service on the city’s new rail cars in an effort to encourage commuters to leave their automobiles at home and ride the train instead.
Daniel Grabauskas, executive director of HART, said installing Wi-Fi service on Boston-area commuter trains was a very popular initiative when he was general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The MBTA put Wi-Fi on trains in 2008 and 2009.
"We actually saw a little spike in ridership" when Wi-Fi was added, and the fares paid by the extra riders essentially covered the cost of providing the service to riders free of charge, Grabauskas said.
The MBTA’s Internet service provider also decided to advertise on Boston-area trains to promote the service as a public relations initiative, which also earned extra money for the commuter rail system, he said.
"It was a no-brainer in terms of a good investment," Grabauskas said. "I think it’s things like that and having an appropriate number of seats, those kinds of basic amenities that are going to get people to get out of their cars."
The HART board of directors on Thursday continued its review of the operating and construction budgets for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2013, which included a brief discussion of the $86 million request to buy property.
Those plans call for the city to buy eight properties outright in the next fiscal year, and to buy portions of another 55 in the segments of the rail line that pass near Honolulu Airport and through the city center.
The budget also includes a request for $1 million to help pay to relocate 14 businesses, but that number is only an estimate, said Jerry Iwata, HART’s real estate acquisition manager.
"HART still needs to finish the archaeological work in the city center area in order to complete the design work, which will determine the exact area needed for property acquisitions and which businesses will be affected," he said in a statement.
The statement added that "it is also premature to release the names of potentially affected parties when the process of notifying property owners has yet to begin."
The city estimates it will spend $202 million buying land along the route, which does not include the cost of relocating homeowners and businesses.
In all, the city expects to purchase 38 properties outright and buy part of another 133.
As of Aug. 31 the city had spent $29.3 million to buy 19 properties, less than budgeted, Iwata said.
