The route being shortened to Ala Moana was simply to make the cost seem lower.   We might have had a tax revolt if the city came out and said rail to UH Manoa would cost 25 billion dollars.    And as I said all along, they scammed the tax payers building out from Kapolei towards town.   That was stupidity in biblical proportions.   We built the easy part at about 4 times the cost that Moofi  sold the public on.   Imagine the cost overruns in downtown