HI: ‘Calculation error’ discovered in Skyline audit

The Office of the City Auditor admitted Wednesday to a significant calculation error found within a recent audit in which it was determined Honolulu’s rail operations continue to suffer poor ridership numbers.

In a report issued Feb. 27 involving the audit of the city Department of Transportation Services’ Skyline operations, the city auditor found the audit mistakenly cited a 77 % decrease in rail ridership from July 2023 to December 2023.

The correct percentage decrease in ridership on the city’s rail line was later determined to be almost 44 %, according to Acting City Auditor Troy Shimasaki.

“An incorrect formula was used to calculate the ridership data from July 2023 to December 2023. And, unfortunately, our internal quality control review did not pick up the error, ” he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Wednesday via email. “This is not the standard we hold ourselves to and we already made changes to our internal quality control process to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future.”

“We recognize that accuracy and trust are foundational to our audit reports and we fell short in this instance. We will do better, ” Shimasaki said. “I would emphasize that although we corrected the calculation error, it did not affect our audit findings.”

In a news release issued the same day, the Office of the City Auditor also apologized “for any confusion or inconvenience this error may have caused, particularly for the Department of Transportation Services.”

The audit—conducted from January through December 2024—stated DTS’ goal in operating Skyline was to accommodate 8, 000 riders per day after a full year of service.

“According to ridership statistics, the highest number of daily riders in December 2023 was 3, 637, less than half of that goal, ” the uncorrected audit states. “Since its opening in July 2023, ridership has decreased 77 percent from 151, 633 monthly rides to 85, 460 rides in December 2023.”

Previously, DTS Director-­designate Roger Morton disagreed with many of the Skyline audit’s negative findings—particularly over ridership numbers.

Morton’s disagreement centered on using data from when the system first opened for public ridership on June 30, 2023—in which there were four fare-free days during that Fourth of July holiday weekend.

“Comparing ridership during the four fare-free days in July 2023 with ridership in December 2023 is an ‘apples to oranges’ metric, meaning a comparison between two things that are fundamentally different and cannot be meaningfully compared directly, ” Morton wrote in response to the audit.

And on Wednesday, Morton told the Star-Advertiser by phone that regardless of any “calculation error” Skyline’s ridership numbers continue to be misstated.

“We think there is no basis for including the free days, ” he said. “And what we do normally in transit is number one, when we compare ridership, we normally look at weekday riderships separately. We also look at Saturday and Sunday, but don’t look at them all together … so the industry standard is to look at weekday ridership ; that’s when the ridership is the greatest, that’s when people go to work.”

Meanwhile, the city audit noted ridership decline was “attributed to several factors, including limited serv ­ice area coverage, inadequate operating hours, and insufficient integration with other transportation modes.”

In a written message to the city administration, Shimasaki said the audit determined that “public transportation commuters face disproportionately longer travel times compared to solo drivers, diminishing Skyline’s appeal as a commuting option.”

Shimasaki added these challenges highlight the need for “strategic changes ” to improve ridership and enhance the system’s overall performance.

In the end, Morton told the city auditor, “DTS will review all recommendations provided in this report from the Office of the City Auditor and strive towards implementation and improvement of our Skyline operations.”

By the numbers:

• 3, 637 Highest number of daily riders in December 2023
• 151, 633 Monthly ridership from July to December 2023
• 85, 460 Monthly ridership in December 2023

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