All over O'ahu, on busy thoroughfares and crowded streets, in neighborhoods and business districts, from Makaha to Makapu'u, city buses today announced an end to a disruptive, four-week strike with groaning gears, squeaking brakes and the whoosh of opening doors.

"It’s terrific," said bus driver Alan Nohara, as he set his bus in motion, 'ewa-bound along Kapi'olani Boulevard. "Everybody’s happy."

Nohara shook hands with 77-year-old bus rider Robert Lee, a regular on his route.

"I’m very happy they’re back working," Lee said. "Absolutely, I missed them. I think we all did."

It was the first day they had been in operation since the city’s 1,300 bus workers went on strike Aug. 26. Members of the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 ratified a new contract Saturday, clearing the way for renewed service.

There were no official ridership numbers from O'ahu Transit Services, which manages the city bus system. But even though the city is offering free use of the bus through Friday, it was not hard to find bus stops with fewer people waiting this morning.

"I thought it would be really busy, considering the free bus rides," said Philip Balmores, as he waited for his regular bus at Kapi'olani Boulevard and Isenberg Street.

He looked around at the five people waiting.

"I guess not," Balmores said.

Shawn Ah Sing-Bombard, a student at Honolulu Community College, was relieved that the buses were running. The strike was a trying experience.

"I have no alternate form of transportation, so I have to ride the bus," she said. "During the strike, I had to rely on the mercy of friends and family. But honestly, if I had a car right now, I would be driving."

OTS officials planned to tally the number of riders late today and are curious to see how the strike affected ridership.

"Some buses were pretty full and some were not," said Ken Stanley, OTS vice president for operations, planning and marketing. "We have the drivers counting as the people board the bus, through the fare boxes. We’re trying to count all the boarding passengers."

In the pre-dawn darkness before the first bus arrived, two people had sacked out at the bus shelter fronting the Kaiser clinic in Kane'ohe, unmoved by the arrival of early-bird commuters.

"One month strike, I guess that’s what happens," said Darryl Valdez with a smile. The Kane'ohe resident is a bus driver who catches the first bus in to begin his own Kalihi Uka route.

"I’ve been doing this for 19 years," Valdez said, then pointed to one of the passengers approaching the bus stop. "She’s one of the regulars."

The "regular" was Gnger Jerome, who said that her nephew works for the bus company and that she’s glad the strike ended without employees sacrificing benefits.

During the bus hiatus, Jerome’s own schedule was upheaved; her retired husband used the sole family car to drive her to work at Neiman-Marcus’ housekeeping department at 7 a.m. and then returned to ferry their son to work at 9 a.m. There was an up side, however.

"I got used to sleeping an hour later," Jerome said, as the half-full bus arrived on schedule, at 5:21 a.m.

Nearer Windward Mall, Shawna Saiki waited for the 5:45 a.m. bus to take her to Kane'ohe Elementary, where she works in the early-morning care program. This meant her dad didn’t have to rise so early to get her there, she said.

Across the Ko'olaus, Mark Alan was waiting at Alapa'i Street for a friend to join him on a bus ride back to the Windward side. He was taking his bike with him, a bike that someone bequeathed to him so he could get to carpentry jobs. But this was his first trip through the Pali in a while, he said; a bike ride through the tunnels is a daunting proposition.

"I think it’s great the mayor made it free the first week," Alan said. "I think it will bring a lot more people back to the bus.

"Some people will end up sticking with that alternate transportation," he added. "Buses are convenient and they’re economical, but they’re also troublesome, all the time waiting for them to come."

At the Hotel Street transfer point, Elsie Higa had walked from her Kukui Plaza apartment to meet buddy Rose Shimabukuro. As a Palolo Valley resident, Shimabukuro had fewer opportunities than her downtowner friends with several diversions within walking distance.

"I’ve been cooped up at home, and so frustrated," she said. "I was so miserable."

Many elders’ options had been curtailed, said Higa, who attended a senior fair over the weekend.

"I’m not sure how they got there, although on Saturday there was the yellow school bus," she said, referring to the stop-gap transit service the city offered during the strike.

The strike altered commuting habits for many, habits that changed again today. For University of Hawai'i student Chris Lankas, 20, renewed bus service meant no more free rides from his mom.

His mother spent the last month driving his younger brother to Maryknoll High School in the morning, then swinging back to their Ward Avenue home to pick Lankas up for school. Later in the day, she returned to drive Lankas to his job downtown.

This morning, mom got a rest, courtesy of TheBus.

"She’s still sleeping, so she must be pretty happy," Lankas said. "I’m not that happy, considering I was getting a free ride."

UH student Sereny Cholymay, 20, lives close enough to walk to school, but it was hard. For longer trips, she and her mother relied on taxis — $8 to get to choir practice near Thomas Square, $11 or $12 to get to Kalihi.

Cholymay found herself staying home far more often than she would have otherwise.

"I’m so glad we have the bus again," she said.

Mo'ili'ili resident Mike Alexander, 57, walked everywhere during the strike. The doctoral student said the walk to and from UH took a half-hour.

On one occasion he had to make an uphill trek to Kapiolani Community College to observe a class. He also had to walk to The Queen’s Medical Center for a doctor’s appointment.

It wasn’t so bad in the morning. But later in the day, he’d miss those air-conditioned buses.