I have written many letters of opinion on this subject and over the years. Its track record has shown us that our council continues to throw millions of dollars of subsidization at it thinking it will improve.
I feel one of the most important things it needs to create among many is a tool to combat our traffic issues. Existing, it’s the wrong kind of system for the island, and the continuance of throwing hard-earned tax dollars at it is a waste of time.
The idea of having public transportation is very important and the council’s efforts are applauded. However, the one we have no matter what you try will never be what is needed.
I see our current system is not cost-effective, inefficient, and is not by any means equipped to offer the many needs it must have in order to get people to use it, and especially our tourist friends who add thousands of cars to our daily traffic congestion because of it.
I have said it before and I’ll continue to say it again, “we need a sophisticated, cost-effective, people-moving network, second-to-none shuttle system, preferably electric powered and equipped to meet all the needs of transportation for tourists with luggage and residents’ needs alike.”
The shuttles should run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We should create “shuttle zone” areas around the island that would cost-effectively move people anywhere they desire in their area or to the next shuttle zone area. Depending on the area, different-sized shuttles should be used.
One zone at the airport could take tourists to hotels and resorts locally and other shuttles could take tourists to the zone that will accommodate their needs. The costs of implementing such a system would be less because more people would use it for its benefits.
The county subsidy would be far less, tourists would pay a flat fee that allows them transportation 24 hours a day anywhere during their stay. Hotels, resorts and businesses would pay based on consumers who use them. Resident use could be validated by services they use which would be paid by others. Businesses and services offered get advertising on shuttles.
This system would create many related businesses, hundreds of jobs and more tax money for the county and state. And, yes, for the rental car business there will be those who no matter what are going to rent a car. A system like this I see as a huge reduction in our traffic congestion and a big increase to our existing economy, less pollution to our environment, and a role model for tourist economy destinations like ours which also have the exact same problems that we are experiencing here.
If we don’t do something now the paradise we have known will sadly become a lifestyle and tourist destination of the past.
•••
Steve Martin is a resident of Kapaa.
This is the kind of thinking that is needed to actually solve a problem.
But who wrote it? Says ” By Bill Buley ” at the top and then at the bottom it tells me that Steve Martin is a resident of Kapaa.
Aloha Kakou,
Re:A Shutle.
Sell the 30 busses sitting idle all day by the Lihue Police Station, buy vans and increase passenger service to every 1/2 hour 7 days a week, with more stops.
Provide service from 6am to 10pm or thereabouts per need.
24 hour service would be like moving Kaua’i closer to being a mini New York, L.A., Tokyo, or Hong Kong, etc., and the only people up all night riding the vans or busses would be the meth heads on holo holo, so forget 24 hour service.
This is Kaua’i. Go to bed early and keep it Kaua’i It.
Get up early and Live the Kaua’i Paradise Life, what’s left of it.
Also if visitor cars were restricted from the North Shore past Hanalei Town it would force a private shuttle service to be successful including drop off and pick up anywhere along the way.
Privatizing shuttle and bus service always makes for more successful businesses and services to the public. Why? Because with government run business, improvement or modification requires too many people…worker with good idea goes to supervisor who may or may not go to department head who might go to a county administrator, who may go to a county council person who may propose a proposal to the full council, who may argue the proposal for 2 months on TV and then be vetoed by the Mayor.
In a private citizen owned business, the hands on owner sees a need for more bus or vans and puts them on line ASAP, and if door to door service becomes a demand , the service is provided. Immediate Supply and Demand satisfaction…not government CRAWL…!
Also a private owner seeing no demand at all during certain hours or days would not waste people power, drivers, or fuel and make an immediate cut back.
No brainer, smaller government, more people employed, more people served and served more better, less Tax payer money wasted.
Another government non-sense is the refuse transfer stations.
How many people go to the dumps before work vs how many can go after work, so why did they change the hours of operation to 7:15am until 3:15pm?, when people are unable to go to the dumps after work.
Oh yeah it’s better to go to the stinky if not personally sweaty dumps before work and then go to work all stinky and sweaty, that’s perfect government sense.
Why? Because it is the government. And the dumps should be open until at least 6 pm to serve the public.
And why not the trustable inmates at KCCC not there to help us unload…community service to reduce their sentence? Why not?
We need a better service but not a government one.
Mahalo,
Charles
Aloha Kakou,
Kapa’a Town traffic?
Put Flag Men at every intersection from ABC Store downtown Kapa’a to Coco Palms…moving 100 cars through each light like a train.
Halt the train after 100 cars and let intersections and shopping centers unload.
Repeat process until traffic time is Pau.
Make it 2 lanes southbound 24/7 from Foodland across the Wailua River to Hanamaulu turn off.
Mahalo,
Charles
Billyjoebob…. I write a lot of solutions to our problems, but it goes in one ear and right out the other of those who can move these solutions forward. I see in today’s paper Ross Kagawa’s idea to pay twice the value of a piece of land gets approved only because of the stupidity of of those who approved it. Very few decided not to open their mouths on the matter. Think of how many pot holes could be permanently repaired for the plus $5 million being paid for the property. I would run for council because and I know creative solutions are going to be the only way this island can move forward. The problem is I wasn’t born and raised here, haven’t got right last name, and don’t have a big family so that I too can join the popularity contest elections!
I write creative doable solutions so that those we have elected to run our county can see valid view points and those solutions can be used to move us forward. We are in the situations we are in because of lack of creativity to solve them. Typically it shows no one working in our government has the creative minds to come up with solutions that must happen. This is the reason we have compounded our problems by kicking the cans and they are getting worse everyday. Better professional management is the key to solving our current problems.
I personally would never ride public transportation regardless of how convenient they made it, just like to have my vehicle and be able to go as I please. The roundabouts that have been created are AWESOME and really do a great job at eliminating back ups, it also slows people down. Install more! They do need to be bigger tho, the one by Wilcox Elementary is way too small.
They need to install a roundabout on the highway in front of Kauai Beach Resort, Infront KCCC which will make that whole are much safer for both KCCC and the golf course, Hanamaulu traffic light, ABC store in Kapaa, The traffic light exiting KCC in Puhi and the traffic light connecting Rice St. to Kuhio Hwy to name just a FEW places. These things keep the traffic flowing and make life so much easier.
How about stop giving the Hawaiian Tourism Association over $100,000,000 budget from all sources? This is a ridiculous budget only beaten out by Florida in a state by state review and we all know how crowded Florida has become. Stop the source of the money and the tourist will go other places. They will not be able to get the cheap $300 round trip ticket from CA and bring back some normalcy to Kauai.