My alternate title was going to be "But- did it happen last time?"
About this hopeful story in the Green Autoblog.com and their little woodie about how the cost of gas will force commuters onto public transportation.
Recently, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) predicted that rising gasoline prices could lead to a savings of $14,376 for commuters in New York City who choose to switch from personal to public transportation. However, keeping that amount of coin in one's bank account may not be as simple as it first seems.
An additional study released by the APTA claims that soaring gas prices will convince Americans to turn to public transportation in record numbers, possibly overloading the our transit systems. The APTA predicts that if gas prices hit $4 a gallon (it's $3.546 today), public transportation networks will need to add 670 million trips per year to keep up with rising demand.
I don't *know* for sure that in NYC and the other east coast Leftie cities- that gas already hit $4/gal about five years ago. I do know it hit $4/gal in San Antonio and I had to quit a good job because I couldn't afford to make a 110MI round trip daily.
Anyway- I'm sure they have records that show the increase in ridership that matches the cost of gas- right.
...And that it's not some Liberal wet dream that leads to:
William Millar, president of the APTA, is calling on Congress for investments aimed at addressing rising demand for public transportation:
We must make significant, long-term investments in public transportation or we will leave our fellow Americans with limited travel options, or in many cases stranded without travel options. Public transit is the quickest way for people to beat high gas prices if it is available.
Do they ever realize that no one will be using their public transportation if no one has a job?
ReplyDeleteI follow what's happening in Chicago with the CTA, since I was born there and have a soft spot for trains.
They are always running in the red - and their normal response to being underwater is to raise fares and cut service.
The lines cut are typically those serving the poorest areas.
I've always wondered what will happen when they get down to one bus and one rider.
In the Chicago suburbs, there's "PACE", which buses typically run sans passengers. I've never seen one of their buses with more than two people riding, excluding the driver.
So, of course, let's "invest" more of our future generations' money into this system.
I think that when gas hits that magic number there will be some sort of mass unrest.
It is obvious to everyone but lefties and greenies that we have enough oil reserves here that are not tapped to keep us going for quite a long time - if our Fearless Leaders would let us drill for it.