As gas costs rise, so does use of public transit

“It’s bad timing. It could steer some new riders back to their cars. ... We’re assuming a minimal loss of ridership, about 2 percent,” said Richard Fix, managing director of the Springfield Mass Transit District.

Transportation officials say convenience — not cost — is their biggest challenge in luring riders, especially in smaller cities where commute times are short and parking is inexpensive and plentiful.

“Folks just want to be able to jump in their car and come and go the second they want to,” said Linda Podeschi, executive director of the Illinois Public Transportation Association.

Because of that, transportation officials say high gasoline prices are likely steering lower-income riders to bus stops but haven’t yet swayed most middle- and upper-income drivers who can afford pricey fill-ups.

Jeremy Hopwood says prices would have to hit $4 a gallon before he would consider parking his Jeep and taking a bus to his job at a downtown Peoria bank.

“If you can afford it, you’re going to do it. ... You’re paying for convenience,” said Hopwood, 31, of Peoria.

Bill Cartwright, general manager of the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority, says high-tech and other well-paid workers are already riding his buses in the middle of Oklahoma’s oil country. Ridership is up 28 percent on regular routes through May, while a park-and-ride service for commuters has surged 50 percent, Cartwright said.

“What you really need to do is get people to take that first ride,” Cartwright said. “Most people think the public transit in their city isn’t as good as it is.”

Millar, whose Washington-based association’s 1,600 members include about 400 transit systems, agrees and predicts many of those new riders will stick even if gasoline prices retreat.

“Certainly none of us likes to wait,” Millar said. “But good things are worth waiting for, and public transportation is one of those if we want to save money, ease congestion and have cleaner air and less addiction to foreign oil.”

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