Cross-elasticity

A former ec 10 student alerts me to an article proving yet again, as all Pigou Club members know in their hearts, that the demand for public transport depends on the price of gasoline:

T ridership jumps with gas prices

The high cost of gasoline has helped fuel a sharp increase in MBTA riders over the first two months of the year and a decrease in the number and length of traffic jams, according to T officials and traffic specialists.

The number of T trips rose from 27 million in February 2007 to nearly 30 million in February 2008, up more than 11 percent for the month, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials said. The numbers were up about 5 percent for January. Combined, the average increase is 8.3 percent.

The rising MBTA numbers follow a national trend. More Americans rode public transportation last year than at any time in history, according to the American Public Transportation Association, which also cited gas prices as a major factor.