Even since I visited Europe I have felt strongly that gas prices should be at least 5 times more per gallon (or just double current prices). This would discourage excessive driving while simultaneously creating a huge base of funds to support transit and pay for environmental clean up from decades of auto use.
The recent increase in prices has been a good test for how individuals and economies would react.
The number of riders on the Piedmont, a train that runs daily between Raleigh and Charlotte, rose last month by about 1,650 people, or nearly 58 percent, from September 2004.
–Winston-Salem Journal | Regional Briefs
I also read that our regional buses have seen a doubling in ridership recently. I’m trying to find a link to that…
the Winston-Salem Journal link seems dead, here’s the NCDOT press release
http://www.bytrain.org/redbarinfo/news/2005releases/Septridership.html