Will rising fuel costs spur public transit?

Press of Atlantic City ^ | 16 Jan 2008 | John Semmens

[DoughtyOne]

Sorry to hear about your run in with the gangstas. People don’t realize how exposed you are on mass transit. If you run into a group of thugs, your ass is grass.

Good luck to you. I hope things turn around.

And quit telling me you’re making money off the increasing price of oil... grrrrrrr. LOL Actually I’m glad you can.

[Rte66]

Thanks - yeah, it’s the “only” bright spot in my sad tale.

The royalties keep me from being technically homeless or starving. And since I don’t have gasoline expenses, the amount that crude oil has increased in the 4 years I’ve been forced to depend solely on that income to survive has kept me from having to ask for other help.

But the living is truly hell. Glad I have FR to keep me sane! Have a great day.

[Bernard]

Public transportation only works when it takes you where you want to go, when you want to get there. Somebody earlier mentioned 90 degree heat during the summer in Texas; in Chicago you get that, plus -10 wind chills in the winter.

Chicago has a huge mass transit system, which some people plan around in order to decide where to live. That assumes they have a choice. In the part of the Chicago area where I live, the only way you can rely on mass transit is if you live within walking distance of one Metra line station, and your destination is another stop along the same line. Otherwise, it's drive a car.

So, for mass transit to work, people would have to change their place of employment or housing in large enough numbers that ridership would be high enough to justify the subsidies that mass transit always needs.

Otherwise, it's a liberal fantasy that does not deserve federal funding. It was a really good idea, some local government, or even a private enterprise, would invest in t the idea.

[Wonder Warthog]

No. But it will drive down the average size of cars, and increase gas mileage.

[thackney]

Bump

[thackney]

On the other hand, a friend recently told me that it costs $80.00 a week to fill up the family SUV. $320.00 a month. For an awful lot of people that’s a budget-buster.

For nearly everyone, there are lower cost choices for a private transportation.

[iopscusa]

Another TRUTH about Public Transportation is you are in a non defensible situation, mostly unarmed and vulnerable to all the Liberal fantasies like we recently saw in Baltimore! Yeah let’s just give the Government full control of everything and take the BUS.

[wayoverontheright]

No. Because of CAFE. The motor vehicle is mass transit's closest competition, and by mandate will become more fuel efficient, thereby enabling and thus exacerbating the flight from inner cities. This happened with the first round of CAFE, initiated in 1975. The only reason mass transit is not completely obliterated has more to do with the lack of parking in major metros, than the economic choice consumers have to make between the two.

If the fuel efficiency of an automobile increases 30%, as the recently voted CAFE rules require (27 mpg to 35), then the cost per mile driven goes down, and the government regulation ends up subsidizing mass transit's closest competition. People already commute from Warrenton, Va. to DC to work, many of them in SUV's. These people will choose more fuel efficient private vehicles before they even consider giving up the freedom and convenience these transports offer, not to mention their unwillingness to give up cheaper real estate in the suburbs.

Even if the battle between mass and individual transit were purely a matter of cost, and it's not, strengthening the private automobile's competitive advantage by making it cheaper to use, while clamoring for more subsidies for the weakened mass transit is the very definition of insanity, IMHO.

Leaving CAFE alone and allowing the market to work would be better, if one is an advocate of mass transit. Only a massive increase in the cost-per-mile driven will enhance the competitive position of mass transit versus the automobile, and we just legislated the opposite with the new CAFE.

In which alternative universe can the conservation of a commodity be enhanced, by making it cheaper to use? We will, as we have in the past, choose to own more vehicles per household, and drive them more miles, thus eliminating totally the benefits of increased fuel economy, and making it less likely, not more, that mass transit will become a viable alternative.

[Calpernia]

>>>>Will rising fuel costs spur public transit?

And toll hikes. A lot at stake for it to happen. Property needs to be seized to finish the build outs of the villages. The Clean Air Act was signed that demands car reductions. And the pesky middle class gets in the way of that utopia.

Ongoing Coverage of the NJ Toll Hike (background on Transit Villages too)

[conductor john]

One of the little known ‘advantages’ of mass transit- everyone gets the same cold, virus, etc. Sneezing on tickets, touching the same door handles, its a lotta fun!

[NRG1973]

“”I think most people will simply reconsider their priorities and spend less money on less important things.””

That is exactly what is going on right now and it is one of the big reasons that the economy is slowing. I strongly believe that an economic stimulus package should include more domestic oil production (open ANWAR and allow offshore drilling on both coasts.

Charles Krauthammer says the $145 billion that is earmarked for the “economic stimulus” represents the money that the US has spent in purchasing foreign oil in the period from Sept 1st 2007 to Jan 15th 2008. It is an indication of how the transfer of our wealth to oil producing countries is killing our economy. We don’t need more mass transit...we need more domestic oil production.

[Glenn]

Screw "public transportation". .

I've been using public transportation for the last 3 months and I love it. An hour and ten minutes of peace and quiet where I can read, watch a video, solve a puzzle or just veg-out. I save a lot of money. Done well, public transportation is a good thing, in my opinion.

[Godwin1]

If you live in some big cities, you can use it. I own a car but take Chicago’s “EL” train to work downtown every day. on the car in a year. It takes about 20 minutes each way. During rush hours, the car would take nearly forty and I’d have to pay exorbitant daily or weekly parking fees when I got there. During the rush hour passengers are folks like me—going and coming from their 9-5 jobs. The EL may be less pleasant at 2 or 3 in the morning, but even then service is fairly frequent and reliable. But then I live a block from the station and my office is about 30 yards from the stop at the other end. I live in an urban setting where I can walk to the supermarket, church, restaurants, coffee houses, doctors and the local hospital. Tradeoff: I live in a small, cramped apartment. If I lived in a large comfortable home in one of the Chicago area’s pleasant suburbs, I would have to take the car nearly everywhere. Public transport is only viable for city folks prepared to make lifestyle tradeoffs. It’s wrong to suggest it can be an option for all, or even most, of the country. We need cars in America.

[blackbart.223]

"One of the little known ‘advantages’ of mass transit- everyone gets the same cold, virus, etc. Sneezing on tickets, touching the same door handles, its a lotta fun!"

Good shot.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Rising fuel costs never cause people to stop driving and take transit, they will just buy more fuel efficient cars. The pro-transit car haters keep looking for that magic bullet to get people to stop driving, but it never comes. People love the freedom of driving from start to finish without being crammed in with a bunch of other strangers on a vehicle they have no control over.

[BfloGuy]

Spitzer is a dumbass whom promises jobs to everybody and education through Graduate School.

And they'll get those jobs -- in other states.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

We don’t need more mass transit...we need more domestic oil production.

Most definitely. Anything less is sheer insanity.

[durasell]

I live in NYC. There are three pizza places and two supermarkets within walking distance. When the pizza is delivered, the guy walks it over or I walk to pick it up.

[durasell]

Public transportation is a tool — you design the tool to meet the needs of the job.

Obviously, public transport in a suburban environment won’t resemble what is used in a large urban area.

[MediaMole]

Except for dense, urban areas, public transit isn’t an option. My time is still more valuable than the marginal change in gas prices.

It takes half an hour and $2 in gas to drive to my office.

It would take a mile walk, 2 transfers, a $2 bus fare and 90 minutes of riding time to take the bus to the office. After that, I cannot leave the office to meet with people during the day.

So, driving costs $4 and one hour of time. The bus costs $4 and more than three hours of time. Add in the value of the two hours of lost time at a low $20/hour and it costs an extra $40/day to take the bus. Even if you count the total cost of operating a vehicle, the round trip driving is only $20/day, but that isn’t realistic, since I am paying for the car and insurance under any circumstances.