There has been a lot of hype for and against the proposed BRT system
before the issuance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement. At
issue is not whether we should have mass transit, but what type of
system would be best.
According to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the population
on Oahu will grow by 200,000 over a 20-year period. Will providing
efficient transportation between downtown and the rural areas help
increase sprawl in these rural areas? Do alternatives promote economic
development or population increases?
With BRT in place, traffic congestion in 2020 will be as bad as it is
now. Would an alternative to BRT, such as tripling the number of
express buses, provide better results?
Are current political figures financially linked with any BRT outcomes?
Clearly, the passage of strict ethics laws to document the flow of
money between contractors and politicians before passage of a
billion-dollar master plan will lead to better planning.
