I didn’t realize how attached I was to my car until this weekend.
Long story short: I got three tickets. One for not having the current insurance card in the car. The second for having an expired safety check. And the third for not having had the car registered.
The total damage: close to $300.
Here’s my excuse: I don’t have the insurance card on me, which means I can’t get a safety check, which means I can’t get the car registered.
I realize it’s still my fault. I should have called for another insurance card — but didn’t. And I waited a few months before even calling my mechanic about scheduling an appointment to get a safety check. (He’s been on vacation, which didn’t help.)
And now I’m car-less.
Yes, I can still drive the car, though not legally. And the officer informed me that they have the right to tow car without current safety check and/or registration. So if I’m caught on the road again without having updated all that information — and I got busted just a block from my house — I might get my car impounded.
That was enough to scare me into public transportation.
I didn’t have a car until college, so I lived on the city bus. It’s how I got around all through high school and even the first couple of years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. We used to even catch the Circle Island bus to the North Shore — just for fun.
Unless I was lucky enough to score a ride from someone — usually my boyfriend or mom — I either walked or rode the bus. So I’m no stranger to Hawaii’s public transportation.
But I’ll be honest, it’s been awhile.
I looked online for the bus schedule and routes and figured out I needed to catch the No. 23 on Kalanianaole Highway to get to Waikiki, where I had an appointment.
So I walked to the bus stop — only two buses stop there — and waited. I was about six minutes early for the 7:26 a.m. bus.
Which never showed up.
So I waited for the 7:51 a.m. bus.
As soon as I saw it round the corner, I started putting my Kindle away to get up. But the bus just drove right past, didn’t even wait or slow down. And it wasn’t empty, either.
Annoyed, I looked up the time for the next bus. I had to wait another 10 minutes. By this point, I had been sitting at the bus stop — with cars and trucks zooming by me on the busy Kalanianaole Highway during rush hour — for nearly an hour. Kinda ridiculous.
Finally, at about 8:09 a.m., another No. 23 came by. This time I knew to be ready — standing with my $2.50 in my hand. He stopped, I got in, I found a seat, and I was off.
It didn’t take more than 20 minutes to get to Waikiki. I can’t complain about that.
I have no problem with public transportation being that 1) it’s on time and 2) it actually stops to let you get on.
That was my first day on the bus. Can’t imagine what it will be like tomorrow.
24 Comments
You rock. Great story. Your admission of guilt and frankly, pure vulnerability — sharing your truth — is awesome!
Aw, thanks. I can’t help but tell the truth. It’s way more interesting anyway! LOL
I was wondering why you caught the bus today. I just got nailed for “impeding a pedestrian in a cross walk” ($130) and “no proof of insurance” (it had just expired; i have insurace $120) along with a previous speeding ticket ($157). HPD is cracking down & making money to justify overtime. (THUMBS DOWN)
HOLY! I never heard of that first one. Yikes. Where was this?
That “impeding a pedestrian” thing might be the “you have to let them cross” thing. I got busted (but no ticket) by a cop at the Bishop/Beretania intersection. You can tell who’s been busted there b/c those who have will ALWAYS let the people cross completely even if people behind are getting agitated. (The cop that stopped me said that it doesn’t matter if you drive across behind them — they have to be on the curb. I swear the commercials they used to run on TV said you just couldn’t drive between them and the curb they’re making for, but I wasn’t going to argue.)
BTW, some valets will reject your car w/o a current safety check. I know b/c I’m notorious for forgetting. I’ve also gone a year w/o registering the car, but I never got a notice for renewal and totally didn’t realize I hadn’t renewed. This did not stop the city from charging me for two years at once when I did go in. I thought that was pretty unfair.
Cat: Wahiawa turning left onto California Ave. I was turning left waiting for oncoming traffic to pass. I was in the middle of the intersection and as I turned, a homeless person had stepped into the crosswalk on my side of the street. There was no way I would hit him, but a cop was on the next road watching all of this. He lit me up, I pulled over and he gave me the 2 citations. Unfortunately, the Hawaii Driver’s manual says that the person in the crosswalk has to be in your half of the street, while the law says anywhere in the intersection – so it’s up to the officer’s discretion.
My sister in law sees it all the time at Bishop and King St. boo.
Speeding? No insurance? Impeding a pedestrian in a cross walk? Doesn’t sound like HPD is just trying to make money. Sounds like they’re doing their job.
Well said.
Hey Cat … SHRIEK!!! … can’t imagine taking theBUS again … stopped after my first year in college and haven’t been on one since … I don’t miss it at all … sitting at the bus stop watching car after car go by … look back every 10 secs to check if a bus is coming … even though we just looked 10 secs ago, we check again anyway … I imagine smartphones & tablets make it bearable now …
… and ARRRRGH!!! … why do buses just pass people by that way??? … isn’t it their job to find passengers … even in the slightest chance you’re not intending to get on that bus …
Yeah… I think he was in the wrong. But that’s OK. I gave myself a lot of time, so I didn’t miss my appointment. But still… wasted an hour…
Could be a good time to give the biking a go as well! I mean, since you’re writing about the change to your commute, why not explore the self-powered option? Your past post wasn’t too keen, but necessity can sometimes change one’s opinion…
Given how long the bus took, biking would probably have been a lot faster.
The problem with biking is securing your bike at your destination.
Hello Cat!
Ouch! expensive lesson. How are you going to surf now? Need a ride?
I just noticed this afternoon I forgot to put my registration sticker on my license plate. It was raining when I got it back in September. :-p
Now the fun begins, you have to get an insurance card, get a safety check which will be rejected because of your registration. You will get a temporary safety check paper which you will have only 10 days to get your registration or you have to get another inspection. You have to go to the DMV with your safety check papers, pay for your registration and possible late fees and go back to the place where you got your safety check to get your safety check sticker. Now your are legal.
I’ve had to do this. The C&C square dance – round and round you go!
Yikes! The last time I had to catch the bus, I had to ask another woman waiting how much the fare was. The nice lady told me how much, and then she asked me if I needed to borrow money.
My car registration is due this month. Would you believe it’s up to $300+ for a Maxima! I think my next car will be a smaller one.
Thanks for this blog entry. I better check to see when my safety check is due.
Cat, try taking a bus in Northern CA east bay. I had to during the hot summer and boy with no a/c it like a oven inside of the bus. Rode for 40 mins. If able to walk it I would but east bay is places is pretty far stuck it out or in the hot bus. Honolulu lucky all buses have a/c so riding public transits it still better than other places with a/c buses.
OMG! That happened to me also!!! Same scenario! No safety sticker- registration not received after paying penalties yet- deja vu! My excuse- I’m old. Not a very good excuse. No stress please. It doesn’t help. Deep breaths!
Hey Cat…I thought I recognized you while I was having breakfast! Anyhow, I think you can get the fine waived for not having insurance if you can get your insurance company to write a letter saying you we’re insured at the time of the ticket. The only problem is that you have to go to court to get it done. Might be worth it rather than paying the fine! Good luck and I hope you don’t have to spend too much time on public transportation!
Got a ticket for jaywalking downtown a few years back when I worked for a law firm. $130.00 sure hurt the pocketbook. Another hurt, my BFF was my companion for lunch that day. She paid hers on time, to prove my point with the city for such a ridiculous ticket, (we were only a few inches out of the line), I paid a $10.00 per month charge for 13 months, but oh well, at least it got paid.
I’ve been a bus rider for almost 20 years after I decided that my wife and I would do with only one car for both of us. It’s been inconvenient at times but really, we’ve saved quite a bit of money by doing so. And my health has been great because of the walking.
BTW, there’s a app: DaBus, by which you can get the info on when the next bus will be coming to your stop, etc. Since it uses satellite tracking, it’s accurate and real great. I hope you continue to try using the bus more frequently. If many more did, our traffic congestion and environment would benefit.
Geez! Sounds like California sent their politicians to Hawaii!
Great article. As a somewhat veteran bus rider, it’s interesting to be reminded of what it was like to make that change from driving on demand to having to wait for a ride. FWIW, I recently started taking taxis on some occasions and using a smartphone app to book the taxi. Have not tried Uber, though.