LAT: No Drive to Mass Transit

[question everything]

No Drive to Mass Transit

Motorists are more likely to reduce gas consumption on the weekends than change their commuting habits, experts say.
By Catherine Saillant and Amanda Covarrubias
Times Staff Writers

August 13, 2005

(snip)

Transit experts said high gas prices might prompt drivers to rethink that weekend trip to Las Vegas or a quick drive to the mall. But changing commuting patterns is another matter.

"That's a really difficult change to make for most people," said Genevieve Giuliano, professor of transportation policy and planning at USC. "If they take the bus, it takes twice as long to get to work and it affects everything else they do during the day."

Officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Metrolink say rising gas prices lure some new riders, but they don't always stay with the transit system for long. MTA officials said ridership on its rail lines rose 14% between June 2004 and June 2005.

A survey conducted by Metrolink two years ago found that 10% of new riders considered the trains a way to cut back on fuel costs. But six months later, only 50% of those respondents were still riding regularly, said Denise Tyrrell, a Metrolink spokeswoman.

(snip)

Southern California's mass transit system is much less far-reaching than those in many Eastern cities, forcing people who want to use trains or subways to commute from their home to the stations. And even those who live relatively close to mass transit stops say bus and train rides usually take longer than driving solo.

(snip)

Times staff writers Natasha Lee and Jack Leonard contributed to this report.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gas13aug13,1,972550.story?coll=la-headlines-california

[SoCalDem]

1. LOTS of people out here need their cars FOR work..not only to GET there

and people work weird hours too..P_eople will just cut back on their spending at the malls, theatres, restaurants, wally-mart..etc..

Look for a dismal Xmas sales time... Sept is the last chance to file for BK, and probably a lot out here will do that, so the sales will REALLY suck the elephant trunk:)