The Discipline of Organizing: Professional Edition, 4th Edition

12.10. Honolulu Rail Transit

By Carlo Liquido, December 2015

Overview. The Honolulu Rail Transit Project is an urban rail rapid transit system under construction in Honolulu on the island of O’ahu, Hawaii. Honolulu’s notoriously bad traffic has plagued locals and tourists for decades, and for almost as long, proposals to address the traffic problems and pay for the solution have been very contentious and political. Construction began in 2011 and is expected to finish in 2019, but delays have been frequent.

What resources are being used? The new railway transit system under construction in O’ahu will run along the southwest region of the island spanning a total of 20 miles, from East Kapolei to Downtown Honolulu with a total of 21 stops strategically placed throughout. There are a number of ways in which one could scope this project. What are the cultural and political limitations? What are the environmental effects and resources that will be indirectly affected? What are the topographic constraints of a railway system in Hawaii? In terms of the scope of my analysis, however, the people—namely the things the organizing system is intended for—are the primary resources. The principle guiding the organizing system is to reduce traffic and make the traveling experience more efficient as a whole.

O'ahu Traffic

O’ahu traffic is usually congested, especially in and around Honolulu on the south ...