Creative thinking needed while we wait for rail to debut

With record traffic congestion in Honolulu, and the rebidding of station proposals that has pushed the rail project back, it’s high time to adopt an "all of the above" approach to commuting and transportation on Oahu.

At a minimum, elected officials should consider the following:

1 — Restart the Ewa ferry to Aloha Tower, vastly reducing the number of vehicles.

2 — Reduce TheBus rates or provide offsets for all state/local employees, providing them a stress-free option that pays dividends to the point of service for our citizens.

3 — Require flex time and telework (and target participation goals) among state agencies, thereby tossing out the stale model of productivity and head-counting at offices.

4 — Expand HawaiiEnergy .com rebates for electric bikes, putting them on par with other options and offering college students an alternative to polluting mopeds.

5 — Expand occupancy of HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) Interstate lanes to a minimum three people per car, providing real incentive to those who must drive, but an improvement over gridlock.

6 — Explore the feasibility of Interstate tolls, so car commuters pay the "true" cost of driving.

Electronic toll tags could speed collections, provide insight to planners about traffic patterns, and enable road maintenance crews to compensate for declining trust funds from the federal government;

7 — Distribute free economy sunglasses to all commuters, offering an inexpensive way to stop wasteful stop-and-go traffic and costly fender benders that drive up insurance rates.

8 — Resurrect rebates for alternative fuel cars, if only partly for electric, or new incentives for hydrogen-powered cars at a station being considered along Ala Moana Boulevard.

9 — Require all departments to report monthly on their goals to achieve the same.

Being on the Top 10 list for "worst cities for drivers," we pay the highest gas prices in the country, according to nerdwallet.com.

We live on an island, but thousands idle their cars on the Interstate, burning millions of gallons of fuel and wasting resources that could be better spent elsewhere.

And finally, and perhaps the most ambitious proposal:

10 — Elected officials should evaluate prospects of using the planned rail line to carry cargo from the at-grade station at Pearl City to all points westward. This intermodal container terminal, for cargo arriving by ship, would reduce congestion on the roads; make them safer for all drivers; and reduce the cost of consumer goods and construction as we build out the new city to the west.

With dropping gas prices, drivers will find less incentive to make these shifts in behavior on their own. However, our quality of life depends on finding interim solutions to bridge us until the dawn of the rail arrives. It’s time for real leadership on the issue.