HART board votes to oust CEO, search for as-of-yet unnamed replacement

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s board on Thursday voted to replace CEO Andy Robbins ― they just haven’t decided with who yet.

Robbins’ fate with the problem-plagued rail authority has been up in the air for months because his three-year contract expires at the end of the year.

Only one board member objected to Robbins being removed as CEO.

The rail program, long plagued with delays and wildly expensive budget overruns, has suffered a number of recent setbacks.

Earlier this year, HART pulled the plug on bids for its proposed public-private partnership to both finish building the rail and operate it for the next 30 years.

Hawaii News Now reported earlier this week now-abandoned bids to build the final four-mile leg of the rail were each nearly $1 billion more than the city had budgeted.

Rail officials will now have to re-start the bidding process ― which will create up to a year in delays and will likely add even more costs to the project.

The 62-year-old Robbins, who earns just more than $300,000 per year in his role at HART, will continue to serve as CEO through the end of the year.

Copyright 2020 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.