High Gas; Who Cares?

From this short article appearing in Wednesday's New York Times (staff or wire reportage not noted), it would suggest that mass transit still faces an uphill battle - even here in "ground zero" for high gas Chicago.

New York Times

"Brief passage":

Despite high gasoline prices, the share of commuters driving alone has increased slightly since 2000 while the proportion in car pools dropped and those using mass transit remained about the same, according to a Census Bureau analysis released yesterday.

Gas prices have only surged in the last 2-3 years, so it would be interesting to see the numbers during that time frame. I do know I recently read an article that noted average annual daily traffic (AADT) leveled off between 2005 and 2006. That is pretty much unprecedented since World War II and especially since the 1970's oil shortage.

I suspect the numbers of new drivers outnumber the new riders. MNTA has reported record ridership due to the higher prices. It seems to have almost no effect on the drivers.

Perhaps the Census bureau can report if there are now 2-3 cars per household in the US? So both Mom & Dad drive to work, & Junior drives off to school or wherever (some have jobs too). Used to be the 2nd car was the bus.

BTW gas prices in Nashville are back down to $2.69-$2.75 from the peak of $3.10 or more the 4th of July.