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I have used the Bus quite often. There are many Express Bus routes to downtown which will take you to work in between 45-90 minutes. So actually it is doable.
The problem is that Honolulu is walkable but the outlying areas like Pearl City, Waipahu, Hawaii Kai, Ewa, Mililani,....are not. So you have no problem to go to work but you have problem to get around in your neighborhood without a car on the weekend.
And don't think of walking. It is a torture to walk under the scorching sun.
There are many Express Bus routes to downtown which will take you to work in between 45-90 minutes. So actually it is doable.
This is why public transportation is not good in Honolulu. People accept 90 minute express bus trips. Who wants to potentially stand that long - this isn't like sitting in a nice airconditioned tour bus, they are often very hot. A bus sits in the same traffic as everyone else.
In Chicago - you can take a train from Aurora IL (the town from Wayne's World) to downtown Chicago boarding at 6:47am and arriving at 7:40am, a distance of 41 miles, longer than the entire length of Oahu. You'll be in a comfortable seat - have WiFI - do work if you choose, read, or catnap.
This is why public transportation is not good in Honolulu. People accept 90 minute express bus trips. Who wants to potentially stand that long - this isn't like sitting in a nice airconditioned tour bus, they are often very hot. A bus sits in the same traffic as everyone else.
In Chicago - you can take a train from Aurora IL (the town from Wayne's World) to downtown Chicago boarding at 6:47am and arriving at 7:40am, a distance of 41 miles, longer than the entire length of Oahu. You'll be in a comfortable seat - have WiFI - do work if you choose, read, or catnap.
But if you drive, it takes you more time since most drivers cannot use the zip lane. Moreover, parking in downtown is expensive.
Most buses are actually too cold. But Express Buses were very crowded even when I last rode 20 years ago. I bet it is getting worse.
There are more than one occasion that young girls dozed in the bus, leaned on my shoulder and salivated onto my shirt during the commute to downtown.
Living within walking distance to work is the best bet if you can manage it. Even if you have to pay more to do it, that will offset the costs of owning a car and save tons of time. Gets you good exercise, too. Most folks would be walking in the morning and late afternoon when it's not as hot as mid-day so although heat could be a factor, it wouldn't be as much of a factor unless you have to go to work at noon.
there's carrental sharing nowadays. i think $10/hour up to $90/day if you have infrequent short term car needs. All insurance, gas, etc. provided. The main carsharing terminal is in downtown i believe.
OP, as others have mentioned, you definitely can live on Oahu without a vehicle; I know a few people who do so now, though they all have friends with cars for traveling throughout the island
As long as you are coming into the situation with a full understanding of the limits of not having a car and are willing to live with that, I say go for it.
Note, traffic to and from work doesn't have to be a pain depending on where you work and when you arrive/depart. For instance, I worked at JBPHH most of the time and own a condo in town. I hoped right on the H1 around 0700 and was at work by 0720. If I left work by 1500 (which I did most days), I was home within 25-30 minutes . . . if I waited until about 1530-1600, things would have considerably worsened, but still nothing unmanageable. Even during the relatively painless times of commuting via POV, however, I'd imagine that The Bus would add on considerable more time to your travels due to the slower speeds it has to travel, stopping to drop off and pick up passengers, etc.
Public transportation is terrible here. People do it because they have no other choice.
You’ll tire of standing waiting for a bus in the rain since most stops aren’t covered then you’ll tire of standing sweating on the bus with all the other people sweating.
OP as a former bus rider I can attest to the accuracy of this post, in fact public transit life was so awful (admittedly much worse in Seattle for a while than out here on the island) it motivated me to get a remote job to simply avoid commuting and public transport all together
If you live in town and work in town, you shouldn't need a car. However, you can rent one for a day if you want without problem. They are working on a train system - may still be about 5 years til that is done, but no car is needed.
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