People Are Hitchin’ A Ride

All along we’ve been saying that good stuff comes to those who wait for the silver lining of our economic downturn/ recession/ depression/ meltdown.

Specifically, we hung our hopes on high gas prices – even to the point that we were the only ones who worried when prices started to fall.

Prescience is our forte, people.

It turns out that expensive fuel is not necessarily a bad thing, and like we said it can even precipitate the cures for some of America’s most pressing problems.

Like, for example, our “oil addiction.”

From MSNBC:

The nation’s public transportation systems saw the largest quarterly ridership increase in 25 years as more Americans shunned their automobiles even as gas prices began to ease, according to industry figures to be released Monday.

Subways, buses, commuter rail and light-rail systems saw a 6.5 percent jump in ridership from July to September, according to the Washington-based American Public Transportation Association. During the same quarter, Americans drove 4.6 percent less on the nation’s highways.

Americans have been warned for years to cut back on driving – it’s bad for the environment, it’s bad for national security, it’s bad for our health – and finally people have heeded the warning.

But only because it was bad for our wallets.

Which, come to think of it, is the only reason Americans ever seem to do anything anyway.

All of this comes on the heels of Barack Obama’s pledge to reinvigorate transportation infrastructure with a massive cash transfusion … which means that, whether it’s Exxon or government, moving around is getting ready to get expensive.

Like postage, public transportation fare is a tax – it’s just one that most people hardly notice for what it is, simply because it’s due everyday and not just on April 15.

Of course, it’s understandable that taxation nuance is outside of comprehension for some people … like, for example, Dallas commuters who are having difficulty grasping the ins-and-outs of public transportation.

Plagued by clueless commuters, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit had to create a webpage that breaks down in “six easy steps” the process of riding a bus.

Ah, Americana.

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