Americans Turn To Transit For Gas Price Relief

"With the price of gasoline approaching $4 a gallon, more commuters are leaving their cars at home and taking trains or buses.

Mass-transit systems nationwide are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats once were easy to come by. Parking lots at many bus and light-rail stations suddenly are overflowing with commuters in some towns.

"In almost every transit system I talk to, we're seeing very high rates of growth the last few months," said William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association. "It's very clear that a significant portion of the increase in transit use is directly caused by people who are looking for alternatives to paying $3.50 a gallon for gas."

Some cities with long-established public-transit systems, such as New York and Boston, have seen increases in ridership of 5 percent or more this year. But the biggest surges — of 10 to 15 percent or more in the past year — are occurring in many metropolitan areas in the South and West, where the driving culture is strongest and bus and rail lines are more limited."