Bonds are useful as a thought exercise because bonds are usually issued for infrastructure projects which promise some future return on investment. The rail is an extremely costly infrastructure project which does not promise substantial benefit to the city in tax receipts or gains in productivity. That alone should raise the question of whether we should continue funding it.

The lack of clarity on expected costs is telling. Caldwell doesn't know how much the rail will cost, and you're correct that it's impossible to make a sound decision without that information. But the idea that the expected $5.2B in benefits has not changed is dubious. That calculation assumed timely completion of the full line. Neither of those conditions can be obtained at this point.

The bus is still useful to you because you have the potential to benefit. If your car breaks down, you could take the bus. This is not true of the rail. If you live in Kailua, you cannot take the rail for any usual purpose.