Discretionary riders, a demographic transit officials have coveted but have had difficulty luring, are using public transit more and more across the United States as gas prices rise.
"Nationwide, people took about 9.7 billion trips on light-rail systems, commuter trains and buses last year, a 1.3% increase from the previous year, according to the most recent data compiled by the American Public Transportation Association. In recent months, public- transportation officials across the country say they have seen much bigger surges in riders, as gasoline prices have approached -- and in some places exceeded -- $3 a gallon."
" 'Outside New York City . . . taking the bus or the rail is viewed as something second-class citizens do as a last resort,' says Elliot Sander, the former transportation commissioner under New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani who now directs New York University's Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management."
FULL STORY: Mass Transit Is Gaining Riders, And Cachet, as Gas Prices Climb
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