The first day of paid rail ridership saw a drop in interest, as expected, with only 1,245 passengers boarding Skyline trains.

Wednesday’s ridership numbers represented a steep contrast to the 8,952 passengers who packed trains for the inaugural four hours of free service on Friday that culminated through the Fourth of July with a total of 71,722 passengers who all rode for free.

With the beginning of paid service on Wednesday to ride the first leg of 11 miles of track along nine stations from East Kapolei to Halawa, the city Department of Transportation Services today said that it “anticipated reduced ridership on Skyline following the fare-free period which ended after the July 4th holiday.”

“All transit services generally require time to grow and develop a dedicated ridership base,” DTS said in a statement. “We recognize, in this mid-summer period, public and private schools and colleges and universities are on holiday. We are confident that ridership will grow through the summer and increase as we transition into regular commute patterns in August at the summer’s end. Additionally, as more riders become familiar with our new connecting bus services to Skyline stations, adjacent neighborhoods, and regional destinations, we are ready to welcome current and new riders onto our City’s multimodal system.”

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation continues to build the rail system for a total of 19 stations ending in Kakaako by 2031 for a total cost of $9.8 billion.

Discussions continue to generate funding to reach rail’s original destination at Ala Moana Center, Hawaii’s largest transit hub.

As more stations open for ridership, DTS said it expects ridership to grow, especially with the completion of the Airport Project Segment by mid-2025.

“At this time, with the addition of four miles and four more stations, Skyline service will operate to Kahauiki Middle Street Station via the Makalapa Pearl Harbor, Lelepaua Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, and Āhua Lagoon Drive Stations, extending the reach of Skyline and the effectiveness of TheBus connections,” DTS said today.