HONOLULU -- Honolulu City Council members voted 5-to-4 to kill a proposed tax hike for a rail transit system 13 years ago. A new proposal to raise the excise tax for transit Wednesday was brought before the council.

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At the early stage, the bill appears headed full-speed ahead for certain approval.

Honolulu County has the approval from the Legislature to raise the excise tax by 12.5 percent for a new rail system.

"No way are we suggesting that everyone is going to get out of their car and use this. But once again, I think like every major city, your provide your residents with choices," Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said.

The mayor said choices should include better bus service, more bike paths, and a ferry from West Oahu as well as rail.

An excise tax hike from 4 percent to 4.5 percent is a huge increase some experts say could cost each family $450 more a year.

"Do not raise the cost of living for 100 percent of our taxpayers so just 8 percent can ride a rail car in perhaps 15 years," Pacific Heights resident Paul Smith told council members.

"This is going to have a negative impact on so many people. It is going to increase the cost of living significantly and we don't need it," real estate agent Helen Carroll said.

"Two recent studies on traffic delays, however, indicate that commuters will waste more money stuck in traffic than they will pay in an increased excise tax," Makakilo resident Frank Genadio said.

Building trade unions support the hike, as does the Chamber of Commerce.

The public will have four more chances to weigh in on the tax increase bill at council meetings scheduled in the next two months. In the end, the council is expected to give final approval to the biggest tax increase in Hawaii's history at its meeting July 6.