Transportation barriers block the route to opportunities for many on Oʻahu, study finds

The challenges Hokoana faces without a car echo those outlined in a new report about transportation insecurity on Oʻahu—which it defines as when people can’t leave home when they need or want to because of transportation barriers.

The report by Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice found that was the fate faced by nearly 1 in 4 Oʻahu residents in the previous month.

The survey of 666 Oʻahu residents between September and October 2025, found that the burden falls hardest on specific groups, namely households earning under $75,000 annually, half of which reported that transportation costs regularly prevented them from reaching essential destinations. 

“It’s because of money, right?” said Genie Naone of Kapolei, who recalled the challenges described in the Appleseed report. She used to struggle to get to work on time because of bus delays, her car breaking down, or parking being too expensive.

“I got reprimanded at work because of transportation issues,” she said. 

Now that her professional and personal circumstances have changed, she feels “super, super blessed,” Naone, 55, said. “If everybody had a good cost-of-living paycheck, then I think we all would be okay with transportation.”

Naone’s past—and Hokoana’s present—make clear that transportation is how people access opportunity, said Malia Boksanski, transportation policy equity analyst at Appleseed, co-author of the report.

“It connects you to your job and to your school and to the grocery store to get food,” Boksanski said. “If you don’t have reliable transportation, that’s a big barrier to all of these other important resources in your life.”

She said the findings indicate that people can be transportation insecure even if they own a vehicle, as was the case for 85 percent of those who responded to the survey. The costs of vehicle ownership add up—gas, insurance, registration—and traffic congestion and long drive times can be hurdles, too.

“No matter how people choose to get around,” Boksanski said, “it’s kind of a universal challenge, transportation.”