Yes, Gas Prices Stoke Mass Transit

Drivers will become public transit riders if: a) there is accessible public transit, and b) gas gets moderately expensive. It may as well be a law of nature and has been proven once again across the country in recent months. Thanks to record gas prices, public transportation has experienced record ridership.

Interestingly, the greatest public transit growth comes from areas where public transportation is less common and people often have to drive long distances. In the South and the West, where public transportation is not necessarily part of daily life, consumers are reaching for alternatives to driving, straining resources.

The confusion around whether oil prices may burst and crash (they won’t), causing another tech bubble crisis has discouraged long-term investment in public transit. When municipalities and states choose to build public transportation, they want to be sure people will use it. This is especially true in public transportation infrastructure, where deals are usually politically laborious, complicated, long term, controversial, expensive private-public partnerships. However, consumers are demonstrating demand for driving alternatives that are not there, providing the political will for large projects or expansions. This news comes on the heels of the approval of the hard won Dulles rail line in Washington, DC.

Read more at the NYTimes.