If you’re planning a trip to Maui, be sure to try Kahului Airport’s new tram. It was installed in 2019, and it still looked great when I visited in December 2021.
I am a fan of airport trams and people movers. Some transit fans may turn up their noses at them, or see them as “gadgetbahns.”
But, generally speaking, the lowly airport people mover system does fill a unique and useful niche in rail transit. They have to be able to:
- Handle tired, confused and grouchy airline passengers who just want to get from the gate to the main terminal, or from the baggage claim area to the rental car facility without walking too much
- Handle those same passengers’ big, heavy and wheeled suitcases and other luggage
- Take heavy wear and tear from shuttling back and forth between point A to point B frequently and quickly
In many places, they are essentially sideways elevators. They will often have protective screen doors, which adds to that elevator feel.
But the Kahului Airport tram is the first one that I have encountered which is both cute and practical as a functional airport people mover train. Just look at this thing:
They painted it green with gold trim, gave it trolley-style lights, and named each train car. The holiday lights and the festive reef are obviously a December-only addition, but they also add to the old-fashioned island feel. The trolley look continues inside, which features wooden benches.
The tram has three stops: An arrivals station, a departures station, and the car rental facility. When our flight arrived, we grabbed our luggage at the baggage claim, and walked across the road to the arrivals tram station.
When we took our return flight home, we repeated the process in reverse, except we got off the tram at the departure station. In our ever-vigilant pandemic world, arriving passengers don’t mingle with departing ones on the tram.
In theory, there are other ways to and from OGG — a taxi, the Maui Bus, various hotel shuttles, have a friend pick you up. You can also walk — with your heavy, awkward luggage in the outdoor Hawaiian tropical humidity — an estimated “three minutes” to the rental center.
But then you would miss the tram, and that would be a shame.
James wrote this 