By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

During the month-long bus strike, the delineation became quite clear.

There were those whose lives were in complete upheaval without public transportation. They couldn't get to work, couldn't get to appointments with their doctors, couldn't manage the basics of their usual routines. Some folks ended up stuck, stuck, stuck or calling on the spotty assistance of friends, neighbors and relatives.

Then there were the people who were inconvenienced but not stranded. There was a car they could use or a ride they could bum or a long walk that wasn't necessarily comfortable, but doable.

Then there was the segment of O'ahu residents whose only experience of the bus strike was that traffic downtown was suddenly really bad but hoo, boy, how good to have that right lane clear, yeah? Remote. Removed. Detached. Maybe even, dare I say it, spoiled.

Being in that last category myself, I wondered what the first day of bus service would be like to those who are not so detached from public transportation.

The reaction was subtle, but then again, folks tend to keep to themselves in public. Stare out the window, read a book, look at the floor. In two hours on the bus, I heard just one rider tell the driver, "Welcome back! It's sure good to see you." She rode two blocks before getting off at the next stop.

As the No. 6 bus passed the guard post on East-West Road, the UH parking personnel called out, "You're back! You're back!" and some of the students on campus waved and made thumbs-up signs.

But other than that, it was quiet on the No. 6 bus from Ala Moana Center to Woodlawn. Fragile-looking elderly people got on and off carefully: right foot on the first step, left foot on the first step, straighten knees, pause. Younger people with backpacks ran for the bus, jumped on, took quick catnaps and somehow woke up in time for their stops. There was a little bit of everything on the bus: young, old, in-between, all sorts of faces and races, business dress, casual dress, beachwear, fancy tutu-style hats. A young woman in a denim mini-skirt pulled a camcorder out of her purse and started shooting video of the driver. The driver ignored the camera, but told the woman she couldn't crouch on the floor behind his seat. Not safe.

How are people reacting now that the bus strike is over? The delineation is clear.

Some feel great relief because they can start living their lives again. Some are glad because they don't have to catch a ride with their neighbor and walk six blocks anymore. Some are bummed at not having that right lane all to themselves anymore; and other than the rare flat tire or dead battery, they remain untouched by the frustration of being stuck, stuck, stuck.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.