[okinawatyphoon]

tony speller, on Jul 16 2006, 07:28 PM, said:

About it being a money pit... not nearly enough people ride on the train per day to have it make money. You've seen evidence for sure since you can go on 90% of the time and get a seat. If you want to ride that though, that's your choice.

You have some valid points, but the figures don't lie. 30,000-35,000 people ride it per day, and that is just in line with expectations. There is an expansion in the works as we speak, although it will be decades before we see it reach Nago, if it ever does. Monorails are very expensive to build. And if you read my post more clearly, I said that 90% of the time I can't get a seat.

Quote

90% of the time when I ride it, I can't get a seat, if that says anything.

[monsoon]

30,000-35,000 is pretty remarkable for a new monorail.

[tony speller]

okinawatyphoon, on Jul 16 2006, 08:29 PM, said:

I said that 90% of the time I can't get a seat.

ah. my fault. i hope what you say about it is true.... and what I've heard is more wrong than true. it'd be a terribe thing for Okinawa.



it is, but it serves a MUCH larger area than just 35,000 people. I bet that a majority of the people riding are tourists and not residents too (not that it should matter. bodies are bodies). maybe I'm just looking at it in a Japanese perspective... because anywhere else in Japan, pretty much everyone along that line would ride it whenever they went anywhere. It's only one line, but it covers a huge part of the city since it twists and turns everywhere. Okinawa though is on a different time schedule than the resta of japan... like, no time schedule. That could be one reason why more people don't ride it.

Like I said, I hope the local mentality toward it changes in the near future. I'd hate to see a big project like that bust.

This post has been edited by monsoon: 01 May 2008 - 02:25 PM

[okinawatyphoon]

tony speller, on Jul 16 2006, 09:58 PM, said:

ah. my fault. i hope what you say about it is true.... and what I've heard is more wrong than true. it'd be a terribe thing for Okinawa.
it is, but it serves a MUCH larger area than just 35,000 people. I bet that a majority of the people riding are tourists and not residents too (not that it should matter. bodies are bodies). maybe I'm just looking at it in a Japanese perspective... because anywhere else in Japan, pretty much everyone along that line would ride it whenever they went anywhere. It's only one line, but it covers a huge part of the city since it twists and turns everywhere. Okinawa though is on a different time schedule than the resta of japan... like, no time schedule. That could be one reason why more people don't ride it.

Like I said, I hope the local mentality toward it changes in the near future. I'd hate to see a big project like that bust.

You're right....the Okinawan people don't have much of a time schedule, so the monorail is a new concept and i'd like to see it embraced more, as well. You're also right about the tourists. I think about half of the people riding are tourists, but then again, 5 million tourists visit okinawa each year, compared to the population of the whole island of only 1.3 million, so half of the monrail riders being tourists doesn't sound bad. Naha is only 315,000 people, so 35,000 people riding it per day is not that much? I am no expert here, but a good 10% of the area the monorail goes through chooses to ride it, which sounds like a decent amount. Even if it was more expensive to ride the monorail than other forms of transportation, i choose it because i want to support the expansion of it. plus, the views are quite cool you have to admit.

PS - thanks for the conversation! i'm glad that at least someone has heard of the Okinawa Monorail besides me!

[monsoon]

I realize this is Japan, but most places in the modern world would be happy if 10% of the population used transit. I give this number because I happen to know the exact stats, but in Charlotte, which is 615,000 people, they are hoping to get 17,000 ridership on the new LRT here by 2025. (9 years after opening)

[tony speller]

hmm... well I guess I'm wrong on this one. I only lived in in Oki for a year after it was open and only visit there now... so my view of it probably is not like how it is currently. Plus... I'm most likely looking at it through a tokyo-telescope, which is way wrong of me to do. Where will they expand to?

This post has been edited by tony speller: 16 July 2006 - 06:47 PM

[okinawatyphoon]

tony speller, on Jul 17 2006, 09:27 AM, said:

Where will they expand to?

Here's part of an article from 2005 talking about the expansion:

Quote

Residents have been complaining since the monorail began operations two years ago that the route doesn’t meet most needs. “We need to expand the railroad more,” is the battle cry from disgruntled patrons. The question now facing planners is how to make it better, and where to extend it.

Three options are now being explored, although several have potential flaws that may eliminate them from ever becoming reality. A Nishihara extension has been promoted widely, and the community has already asked the prefecture to budget money for the project. Nishihara residents want the monorail extended through their community to connect with the Okinawa Expressway via Route 241.

Another calls for using Route 29 to go to Nishihara, and a third calls for expansion in Naha. The 2006 construction budget is allocating funds to study and research the project with an eye to quickly moving from planning to construction.

It isn’t as easy as it sounds, say planners. For the monorail to go over an existing highway, the highway must be wider than 25 meters. Route 82 is wider than that, while the others are not. Still, residents may not accept the plan because it feeds and promotes Naha City, and not Urasoe City or Nishihara Town.

Route 241 would be the longest construction project, spanning about three kilometers of work. An extension along Route 29 would cover about two kilometers, but neither road network connects to the Expressway. That is a problem according to planners, because money would have to first be allocated to buy land for the monorail, then additional funds to expand the road network itself.

Proponents say the Route 241 design is best right now, because it would extend from Shuri and Urasoe City and encompass Nishihara Town. Advocates say the route would add three stations and be done jointly with the bus depot expansion. Planners say it would be a big project involving park and drive locations, standard parking, a rental car office and a shopping mall.

This post has been edited by okinawatyphoon: 17 July 2006 - 04:01 AM

[okinawatyphoon]

I went on the Okinawa monorail today and took some pics for fun. I love riding it so much.

Yui-Rail!










...and finally, a cute crab on the door reminding you to be careful not to let the door pinch your fingers.

[monsoon]

Thanks for taking the time to post the photos as I enjoyed looking at them. The crab on the door is a nice touch and very Japanese.