Commuters Resort to the Rails As Gas Prices Rise
Friday, June 13, 2008JEFF YASTINE: Just how far will Americans go to reduce their gasoline costs? Mass transit officials across the nation are hoping they'll go all the way on a train or a bus and leave the family car in the garage. As Scott Gurvey reports, when it comes to commuting, there's evidence many people are already making the switch.
SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Even if endless rush hour traffic haven't coaxed you out of your car and onto mass transit, gasoline selling for more than $4 a gallon is probably making you give the idea some serious thought. Transit systems are reporting big increases in ridership as Americans park their cars and switch to trains, buses and light rail. Sean Weithers rides the rails to New York from Bloomfield, New Jersey.
SEAN WEITHERS, TRANSIT RIDER: I would see the price of gas every day coming back from New York changing. It would go up a dime, $0.02 here and there. So I look at that, I look at that trend on a daily basis, and then I said, you know what, maybe then I should start parking and hop on the light rail.
GURVEY: The American Public Transport Association says the biggest jump in commuter rail ridership in the first quarter was 28 percent in Seattle, followed by 17 percent in Harrisburg, 16 percent in Oakland, 13 percent in Pompano Beach and 10 percent in Philadelphia. New York operates the nation's largest transit system and has seen an increase in all categories of operation. It's funded by many sources, including gasoline taxes, now falling because people are driving less and property taxes, now falling because of the housing slump. New York Metropolitan Transit Authority CEO Eliot Sander says that's a big problem.
ELLIOT SANDER, CEO, NEW YORK METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY: It puts the MTA and also other transit properties around the country as well in a very, very challenged place. The irony is, from a public policy standpoint, this is exactly what you want see. Having people ride public transport is terrific from an environmental standpoint, useful in terms of congestion. It's the right thing to do. On the other hand, our finances are about as weak as they've been in the last 20 years.
GURVEY: New Jersey Transit saw a 5 percent increase in train ridership in the first quarter. That is well ahead of the long-term trend, which has been rising as people working in Manhattan move to the garden state. That trend has already taxed all Hudson River crossings to capacity, including bridges, trains and ferries. To help meet demand, NJT is buying double- decker train cars which add seats without adding trains. But the ultimate solution, according to NJT Executive Director Richard Sarles, is much more ambitious.
RICHARD SARLES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW JERSEY TRANSIT: In the long- term, what we're doing is advancing a project to double the capacity into New York, adding two more tunnels, two more tracks. And so, instead of getting 23 trains an hour into -- during the peak period, we'll get 46 trains per hour.
GURVEY: If built, the tunnel will be the first new river crossing since 1937. Construction is expected to take 10 years and cost more than $7 billion. This kind of undertaking requires both regional and federal cooperation. Eliot Sander of New York's MTA says policymakers nationwide must understand the value of mass transit.
SANDER: When you look at the 40, 50 major regions in the United States, they won't be able to function without transit. And so, it's crucial from an economic standpoint. And then, in the context of global warming, you've got to get people into transportation systems that are more environmentally sustainable and transit is certainly in the lead on that.
GURVEY: Sander says what mass transit in the United States really needs is permanent change in the way people approach their travel. With the high price of gas, that may just happen. Scott Gurvey, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.
