Cars still rule

High gasoline prices last year contributed to a 4 percent decline in vehicle miles traveled, but public transit didn’t capture all of the traffic that was lost to the roads. Sam Staley, Reason Foundation’s director of urban growth, testified before Congress recently and urged lawmakers “to prioritize transportation solutions that increase our mobility and decrease traffic congestion,” according to the libertarian foundation. Staley asked Congress to keep public transit in perspective when designing a stimulus package. Public transit is responsible for a tiny share of mobility in this country; increasing transit ridership significantly would require “a dramatic and largely involuntary relocation of people and families into housing they do not want,” Reason says. People still like to commute by car. One factor is time: On average, public transit riders spend about 36 minutes traveling to work while private automobile travelers commute about 21 minutes.”

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