Honolulu, HI

It’s no secret that Hawaii drivers are married to their cars. But with gas prices hitting $4.00 / gallon on the mainland (and Hawaii close behind) is it time that the streets of Hawaii can be cleared out as we look for other means of transportation? Is it even possible that people will somehow leave the comfort of their cars? I’m not so sure.

For instance, the other day, I had lunch with my brother. I drove from Pearl City to Ala Moana Shopping Center and from the looks of it, there didn’t seem to be any significant difference in the amount of traffic – Lunalilo Freeway was still busy at 11:45 am. This was the rolling kind of busy. You know the kind where there are a lot of cars around but you’re still moving at a decent rate.

Let’s take a look at how this change really hits our pocketbook and calculate some costs. Let’s say that a car hold 15 gallons and gas prices are $3.50 per gallon. You have to fill up every 4 days so that is roughly 7 – 8 times per month and for the sake of the calculation, we’ll do 7 times per month. (BTW, sorry about the math challenge….)

15 gallons * $3.50 / gallon * 7 = $367.50 / month in gas

at $4.00 per gallon,

15 gallons * $4.00 / gallon *7 = $420 / month in gas

That equates to a difference of $52.50. That’s not a shocking difference except for those who are already facing financial challenges.

Perhaps the rising gas prices are just the thing we need to get us motivated to start looking at other means of transportation which are:

1) Vanpool Hawaii – I read somewhere that ride sharing usage has gone up

2) The Bus – I also read that bus ridership has also increased

3) The Boat – Great for those traveling from the West Side to Waikiki or UH

4) Carpooling – team up with people who work with you or near where you work.

5) Bicycling – Great for inner city transportation, but does nothing for freeway commuting.

6) Walking – Again, great if you live near where you need to go.

7) Mass transit – Still in the works….

With all that being said, do you think that the streets of Hawaii can be / will be cleared out because of the rising costs of fuel? Let me know what you think – send me a comment!

Hawaii drivers, gas prices, vanpool Hawaii, the bus, the boat