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AutosBus Ridership Explodes in the Hinterlands
Like all urban trends, the sudden allure of public
transportation has filtered down to small-town America. It became official when
the Chittenden County, Vermont
Transportation Authority reported a record number of passengers, which is kind
of like when the Montpelier Sam Goody started stocking Sugarhill Gang LPs.
The
phenomenon that started with trendy New Yorkers posting a 5 percent increase on the Metro North and Long Island Railroads has continued with a 6 percent increase in Hartford
and an 8 percent jump in Denver as drivers who had the option of taking public
transportation started leaving their cars at home. Now, taking the bus is more mainstream than Will Smith.
Unfortunately, as MC Hammer
could tell you, sudden popularity comes at a price.
Bus-based public transit
has been hit especially hard by the sharp rise in diesel fuel costs. This has
kept static the supply of hard plastic bus seats, while demand grows like the ear
hair of the guy sitting next to you on the cross-town express. "High gas prices are really a double-edge sword," Virginia
Miller, spokeswoman for the American Public Transportation Association, told The Christian Science Monitor. "While they are bringing more people to ride buses and trains
all across the country, public transit agencies are facing challenges
to meet their costs."
That has some systems raising fares or cutting service. Nearly half of the metro bus operators
the association surveyed have increased fares. Nearly one in five have reduced service.
Even services that
don?t rely as heavily on fossil fuels are feeling the pinch of the economic
downturn through decreased revenues from state and local governments. South
Florida Regional Transportation Authority Director Joe Giulietti told told USA
Today: "At a time that ridership is at an all-time high and people are
desperate to use mass transit, we are in a terrible spot." A worse spot,
perhaps, than a seat next to a middle schooler with a Katy Perry ringtone.
Even though local transit authorities are strapped to the
gills, neither presidential candidate has made increasing access to or
improving the quality of mass transit a major campaign issue. Though John McCain's earlier views on Amtrak are pretty well known, he has kept mum on local public
transportation. Barack Obama has made improving mass transit a focus of his energy
policy, with the 133-member "Public
Transportation Users for Obama" joining other hypersegmented groups, such as "Adult
My Little Pony Collectors for Obama" and "Chain Restaurant Chefs for Obama." Despite
the lip service, with fewer than 5 percent
of Americans using public transportation for their daily commute, it is doubtful that MetroCard holders will become an important voting bloc.
We?d like to hear about the public transportation where
you live. Has your normally placid commute been disrupted by a bevy of newcomers?
If you drive or bike to work, what would it take to make public transportation
a viable option for your commute?
Would an iPhone armed with a trip-planning widget and headphones make
you actually look forward to straphanging, or would nothing short of a bar car convince you to
leave your own car at home?
Photo: pbo31/Flickr
Published: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:22:58 GMT - Source: Blog.Wired.Com - Read the article
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