Like many on O'ahu, Jenina Singh has a love-hate relationship with the public bus system. It's not perfect, but it can be crucial.

The new college graduate rides the bus every day, which means she doesn't have to buy a car or pay for gasoline or auto insurance, the Manoa resident said.

Rides can be long, however. "There have been days when I have left Manoa for Downtown Honolulu and it's taken 45 minutes to an hour," Singh said.

With the help of customers like Singh, bus ridership during the fiscal year that ended in June 2006 climbed 4.4 percent from the previous year, to 70.3 million. The fiscal 2006 ridership was the highest since a crippling 34-day strike by bus workers in 2003.

Officials said ridership is expected to increase by at least 3 percent for the fiscal year that ends this month.

That means the system is serving about 9 million more riders than in the year of the strike, which paralyzed the system and sent riders scrambling for cars, bikes and other alternatives. About 1 million more passengers took the bus this year than in the year before the strike.

"We recovered fully — just barely, but we recovered fully," said Roger Morton, president and general manager of O'ahu Transit Services, the company that runs the bus system for the city.

The healthy economy is probably the largest single factor that's boosted ridership, he said. Clean and comfortable new buses are also a big plus.

"I think we have a great bus system, and I think we have a great, loyal ridership here," Morton said.

Ridership began a sharp decline when the economy tightened after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and produced widespread layoffs for O'ahu's workforce, he said.

MORE JOBS, MORE RIDERS

Many people assume a robust economy prompts people to buy cars and ditch the bus, but the truth is really the opposite — more people riding more buses to go to more jobs, Morton said.

Ridership has increased despite two fare hikes in 2003, which doubled the cost of rides in most cases.

Fares have remained stable since then — the one-way fare for adults is $2. City public transit division director James Burke said a new program of discounted bus passes for university students, called U-Pass, has also helped boost ridership.

A four-month U-Pass costs $80 to $85, depending on the university, making it roughly half the cost of four regular $40 monthly passes.

But ridership is still about 7 million less than the high point of 1994, when more than 77 million passengers rode public transit. And convincing some drivers to give up their cars will be very tough.

"I choose not to use the bus system because it's inconvenient and time-consuming," said Kane'ohe resident Christina Piechoski, who works in Downtown Honolulu.

"If the bus system were more efficient, I might consider using it," she said. "But until then, time is a luxury that I don't have."

Less than 8 percent of Honolulu's population uses public transportation, but the city ranks 10th among major U.S. cities, according to 2005 data released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau. New York City had the highest public transit ridership, with nearly 30 percent of the population.

Hawai'i Pacific University student Jesse Szymanski rides the bus every day — but that doesn't mean he loves it.

It seems as if buses are always late after 2 p.m., and bus drivers can be surly.

"I've had a bus driver tell me to take a cab because I had groceries with me, but I couldn't because I don't have money," Szymanski said. "I ride the bus mainly because I don't own a car and it costs too much money to have one as a college student."

LEAVE THE DRIVING TO ...

Makiki resident Rachel Toyer owns a car but often prefers the bus. It's generally reliable, and she saves money by not having to pay for parking.

"The bus runs on time, for the most part, and I can get to pretty much anywhere around town," she said. "I'm glad that this city has an efficient and effective bus system."

Sometimes, deciding whether to drive or take the bus is simply a matter of planning the day, she said.

"My biggest question to myself when deciding on which way to go is, 'Do I want to ride a bus and be on someone else's time, or do I want to drive a car and be on my own time?' "

'Ewa Beach resident Joanne Corpuz also likes saving money by riding the bus, but it's not always comfortable.

"It can be creepy because of the people that ride it, depending on which part of the island," she said. "It's a far commute to town, and the traffic is really bad in the 'Ewa area.

"But I really like that I can catch up with work or my reading while I'm on the bus."

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.