Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/growing-ridership-strains-overburdened-transit-agencies Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Public transit ridership is at a 50-year high, but the economic downturn is putting new pressure on already overburdened transit agencies. Special correspondent Rick Karr reports as part of the "Blueprint America" series on infrastructure, produced in collaboration with WNET New York. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. GWEN IFILL: New figures out today show Americans relied on public transit in greater numbers last year. The American Public Transportation Association reports that, as gas prices dropped, more than 10 billion trips were taken by bus and rail, the highest level in more than 50 years.But as demand rises, public agencies are feeling the budget pinch. We have a report from "Blueprint America," our series on infrastructure produced in collaboration with WNET-New York. Special correspondent Rick Karr has the story. RICK KARR: John Hillman spends a lot of time commuting.JOHN HILLMAN, San Francisco Bay Area commuter: In other words, I spend about 60 hours a month commuting to and from work. I'm part of a trend. And this is why investments in public transit are important to people like me. RICK KARR: Every weekday morning, he gets up at the crack of dawn and leaves his condominium in the Bay Area suburbs. He takes a bus to a train to his office at the University of California, San Francisco. JOHN HILLMAN: I save about $100 a month taking transit compared to all of the costs involved in — if I was to take a car by myself, in terms of bridge tolls, gas, and everything else. And, also, I find it less stressful.My wife and I got rid of one of our automobiles about 18 months ago. We wanted to do it as an experiment. And I think it's going to continue indefinitely, as long as there's a transit system still in place.