As I sit here and write this blog entry, crude oil in New York is now trading at nearly $129 a barrel. Amazing. A year and five months ago, it was $50 a barrel. And, as our series this week on NBR indicates, motorists are truly feeling the "pain at the pump." How are they responding? In some ways, it's obvious -- buying fuel-efficient vehicles. It's no secret that sales of SUVs and pickup are down, and sales of vehicles like the Toyota Prius are up.

Americans are responding in other ways -- like switching from driving to using mass-transit. Metro bus and rail systems around the country are setting monthly ridership records as Americans seek alternatives to $4 a gallon gasoline. In south Florida, the rail system -- called Tri-Rail, which extends from Miami to West Palm Beach -- is finding its trains packed during rush-hour periods. We spent some time riding with passengers and found some interesting stories. Growing numbers of riders ride bicycles from their homes to their local train station. Then they take the bike on the train, so they can use it to ride from the station to their workplace and back again.

There's an irony in the growing popularity of metro rail and bus systems for commuting. Many states, counties and cities are grappling with lower sales-tax revenues because of the nation's economic slowdown. And where are lawmakers trying to "make back" those lost revenues? In many cases, by cutting the budgets of the mass transit systems so many Americans now rely on. And, there's a final irony. Now that mass transit is finding a degree of newfound popularity with commuters, administrators of many systems are considering fare hikes to help maintain and expand their systems, and adjust to rising costs for fuel and labor.

It seems commuters can't win, no matter how they decide to get to work.