As gas prices increase so does the use of public transportation amongst Americans. The increase is occurring in both places where commuters have largely been drivers like Charlotte, Houston and Nashville and in areas where commuters have traditionally used public transportation like Boston and New York City. Certainly, the nontraditional cities will have to expand their public transportation infrastructure. From the New York Times:

“In almost every transit system I talk to, we’re seeing very high rates of growth the last few months,” said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association.

“It’s very clear that a significant portion of the increase in transit use is directly caused by people who are looking for alternatives to paying $3.50 a gallon for gas.”

Some cities with long-established public transit systems, like New York and Boston, have seen increases in ridership of 5 percent or more so far this year. But the biggest surges — of 10 to 15 percent or more over last year — are occurring in many metropolitan areas in the South and West where the driving culture is strongest and bus and rail lines are more limited.

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On the Net: APTA: American Public Transportation Association