$3.8 million here, $3.8 million there still real money

We’re all numb to the bad financial news about rail. How much can taxpayers sweat about a mere $3.8 million?

That’s the amount that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation overspent in relocation payments to property owners along the rail route. This is money that gets reimbursed by the Federal Transit Administration. To stay on the right side of the FTA, as it must, HART is likely to forgo future reimbursements until it makes up the difference.

Worse than that is the realization that this colossal goof happened on something the “experts” should have known how to do.

TheBus helps drive Oahu’s good public transit score

Honolulu landed in the No. 10 spot in a 2018 ranking of “Best Cities for Public Transit.” The report, released by Redfin, a real estate brokerage, rates cities with populations of more than 300,000 on public transportation convenience. (New York and San Francisco, respectively, had the top two transit scores.) The report noted that in Honolulu, TheBus averages 214,000 trips every weekday.

Last month, standard one-way bus fare increased by 25 cents to $2.75, as well as $10 more to $70 for a monthly pass, which is good for unlimited usage on regular and Express! service. Even so, TheBus remains a relative bargain for navigating the city.