Editor's note: The Island Life section is challenging O'ahu folks to live a more environmentally friendly life. Previous stories have focused on a diet emphasizing local foods, cutting back on trash and going vegetarian. Now, look at a week without being a single passenger in a car.

Taking up the challenge: Honolulu City Council's own Nestor Garcia, chairman of the Transportation and Public Works committees. Here's how he fared.

When Councilman Nestor Garcia first considered the challenge of going a week without using his car, he was intrigued.

After all, he takes calls from his constituents about TheBus, attends transit meetings and had always wanted to try TheBoat. A week without using his car? Why not?

Then, at the bright and early hour of 7:30 on the first morning of the challenge, after walking about a half mile to the bus stop, Garcia was jingling eight quarters in his hand and staring at the bench.

"I'm at the bus stop, waiting for TheBus, and I can't sit because it's wet," he told a reporter from his cell phone.

Not the most auspicious beginning to what he hoped would be a chance to see firsthand what it means to carpool, plan ahead with bus schedule in hand, and get some extra exercise through The Advertiser's Go Green challenge.

He felt acutely what his mother, who works at Watumull's and relies on TheBus to commute, and all those disgruntled riders had griped about to him in the past.

Still, when the week was done, he was pleasantly surprised.

"The best part was, I found bus drivers to be courteous and helpful, especially with what they're asked to put up with," said Garcia, who also enjoyed eschewing traffic and having a little downtime — when he could get a seat.

He was pleased to learn TheBus follows its posted schedule and offers a convenient way to get around the island.

That's the case even when weather is inclement, some of the fleet's 525 buses face repairs and ridership rises with gas prices, he said. (Even now, Garcia reports, ridership remains elevated.)

Garcia gave himself a few rules: He'd pay full fare (council members get free bus passes) and could carpool if someone was going that way anyway.

Along the route, he gained a new appreciation for teenagers' gadgetry.

"Thank God for earphones," he said, "and those portable MP3s, now. In the old days, you had boomboxes. Now, we don't have to share their music."

THE 'TRIP TO MORDOR'

Even with a few boat trips that afforded some beautiful scenery and seemed fairly comfortable (or, as he put it, "not as choppy as I thought it would be"), not all was smooth sailing.

There was Tuesday, or "The Trip to Mordor," as Garcia called it.

First, he took TheBus to TheBoat, and walked to work. That took almost three hours.

After a long day that included a trip to Kapolei for an afternoon meeting and a bus ride home, his daughter called. She needed him to bring over a piece of paper she'd left at home. Stat. And she was at Pearlridge. That's another 40 minutes and two buses.

"I was tempted" to turn the key in the car, Garcia admitted. But he didn't.

However, he did call in the next morning, to make sure aforementioned reporter got the full blow-by-blow.

"I feel like a parolee, checking in," Garcia said with a laugh.

Then there was the evening he would have needed to wait an hour for the 10 p.m. bus, and decided to take the approximately 40-minute trek uphill from the transit center to his house.

"Good thing it was a cool night," he said.

WORKOUTS OPTIONAL

A plus: Garcia could bypass the gym for the week, since he was doing a lot of walking.

Oh, and he learned the joy of Google Transit, which helps plot trips with TheBus, including estimated travel times.

What else did he learn?

"You have to be extra vigilant about plans, like what time you leave the house," he said. "And to watch the weather first thing.

"Pack for the day — umbrella, jacket. You really need to be aware of what you bring along. Once you leave the house, you're committed for the day. In a car, you can always make a U-turn."

Oh, and to wear comfortable shoes.

Before, he'd take TheBus occasionally, and still will.

"Ours is one of the best in the country," he said. "I want to make sure it lives up to its reputation."