False Information-Honolulu Rail Project
I am not against the rail. I am for the rail. I voted for the rail but much later realized that I voted based on false information. That false information was as follows:
- The rail project would cost $5.29 billion (and no mention of GET funding)
- The rail project would go 20 miles to Ala Moana and have 21 rail stations at the original cost.
- The rail project would be built on time and on budget.
- The rail project would create 10,000 local jobs.
- The rail ridership numbers were grossly inflated.
The cost of the rail project was poorly estimated from the start and has been severely mismanaged. There has been very little accountability and to this day HART refuses to provide much needed answers even to the Honolulu City Council, various members of the Legislature, and even to Federal Investigators.
Even after not one, but numerous audits, there is still no transparency. The People of Hawaii deserve real and complete answers, and deserve to be told the true facts. We do not appreciate being told half-truths And, when there is something to be told, we do not appreciate half-truths, twisted information, PR, white lies and smoke and mirrors.
There is a huge difference between having a plan and having the money to complete that plan. Right now there is so called approved Recovery Plan but there is no money to go to Ala Moana, there are no real estate developers committed to buying a rail station, and there is no total cost estimate. There is also no PPP to help fund the rail. HART is broke and there are no funds to pay for the project to completion.
There are many hard-working individuals working at HART, the City and various architects, engineers, consultants, construction workers etc. Some of them are my friends. Some of the contents of this website is by no means meant to devalue their services or cut them down.
To this day, HART has not provided the yearly cost for operations and maintenance.
Your website is backed by a consortium of community leaders, construction industry experts, Hawaii taxpayers and concerned citizens not only in Hawaii but on the mainland and even around the world.
Our Advisory Board consists of former and current politicians, contractors, construction workers, architects, engineers, cost engineers, CPA’s consultants, government workers, and non-construction industry related concerned citizens.
If any of the information posted on this website is not accurate, I welcome any and all responses by HART, and will post HART’s response on this website.