Some winning, some losing on new commute
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
The citywide bus strike has cost Brent Goumaz of Makiki $73 — that's $36 for cab fare and $37 for a new bicycle he bought yesterday.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It's too far to walk; cab fare's too high and there's no car pool (for me)," said Goumaz, who works for a telecommunications company near Honolulu International Airport. "I know that a bike ride is 20 minutes out there, so it's terrific."
Brent Goumaz, 45, of Makiki, just spent $37 on a kid's bike from Kmart, an emergency expenditure made necessary by the city bus strike. But he was happy riding it on Pauahi Street downtown, and said he would make a new habit of bicycling to his airport job.
Goumaz is among thousands of island residents who have depended on bus service and have been forced to find other means of transportation as the strike enters its third day.
Goumaz, 45, said he'll dish out $50 more to modify the seat of the bike, a Huffy children's model. He bought the bike at Kmart, where they were sold out of new adult bicycles, he said.
Despite the expenses, Goumaz said he realized he was better off and wouldn't rely on the bus anymore.
"With a bus pass, it's going to be more than $300 a year," he said. "When you really stop to think about it, that's a horrendous cost. With a bike, you're covered."
It's also healthier, he said. "I'm over 40, so I've got to exercise," he said.
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Biking isn't an option for Jennifer Thomas, 24, a Kapolei resident who works downtown. "It's definitely inconvenient," the real estate analyst said of the strike.
Thomas has to borrow her boyfriend's car. That means waking up an hour earlier to drop him off at work first.
"I also have to pay extra now for parking," she said. That adds up to $30 a week, compared with $30 a month for a bus pass.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
Pam Sanchez of Kahalu'u also wakes up an hour earlier, and pays $5 a day to park downtown in a lot that has 60 stalls. She said that if the lot fills up, she wouldn't know where to park.
Pam Sanchez, top, now has to wake up an hour earlier to secure parking; her co-worker Cathy Cornish car-pools to work.
"The reason I have to leave so early is to secure my parking," said the 42-year-old customer service representative.
Parking isn't a problem for her co-worker, Waikiki resident Cathy Cornish, 39. Cornish used to ride the bus to work and back, but now she car-pools in with her two roommates.
Finding a way home is another story; she said she has to play it by ear. Cornish got a ride home with a friend Tuesday, and contemplated catching a cab yesterday.
"I feel like I have no independence, because I used to be able to get up when I wanted and just get on the bus," she said. "Now it's like I have to really depend on other people."
The sooner the strike is over, the better for patrons and bus workers, Cornish said.
"There's lost revenue; the people that are striking are not getting paychecks; they're being affected," she said.
"I think, overall, nobody's winning."
Reach Zenaida Serrano Espanol at zespanol@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8174.
