Charles E. Shoemaker/The Gazette
Detours will be in place on Rockville Pike in both directions during construction of the new Montrose Parkway near Randolph Road.
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As gas prices continued to fall, some expected the rise in public transit would fall off and people would begin driving. But a new study by the federal government shows that commuters in the mid-Atlantic region are driving even less.
Nationally, people drove 8.9 billion fewer miles in October, the latest month available, than they did in October 2007. That is the largest October drop since 1971, according to the American Automobile Association Mid-Atlantic. People drove 444 million fewer miles in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., in October than in the same period last year, according the AAA.
"Even before it was costing us $75 a week to fill our gas tanks, as it did this spring and summer, we had already started to change our driving habits in ways unexpected years ago," said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic's Manager of Public and Government Affairs. "Despite the fact that gasoline prices have been in a freefall since mid-July, consumption is still declining. Last week, U.S. gasoline consumption was lower than it was the same week a year ago."
People who began to take public transit in 2007 with the rise of higher gas prices are sticking with it now that prices have dropped back down to their lowest level since early 2005, Townsend said.
Overall, the use of public transit is up 6.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, the largest ridership increase in 25 years, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
In addition to more people using public transit to get to work, fewer people have jobs to go to, also leading to a reduction in driving, Townsend said.
Disabled ridership
soars on Metro
Metro expects to see its ridership service for people with disabilities to possibly double by 2013 because of service improvements and economic conditions, according to a new study of MetroAccess ridership trends.
Ridership for the previous fiscal year was up 16 percent compared with the same period the year. So far this fiscal year, ridership is up another 20 percent compared with the same period last year.
Metro's investments for the service, which includes door-to-door transportation for people with disabilities, has made it more attractive to riders, said Christian T. Kent, assistant general manager of access services.
But the declining economy also is leading more people in the senior and disabled communities to choose public transportation instead of driving themselves, he said.
Stay alert for detours
Montgomery County's Department of Transportation reminded motorists to stay alert for detours on Rockville Pike at Randolph Road as part of the ongoing construction of the new Montrose Parkway.
The $50 million project is expected to be completed by December 2010.
Northbound and southbound lanes of Rockville Pike will be detoured around the construction.
One Less Car
is down one chief
The executive director of Baltimore advocacy group One Less Car stepped down head of the nonprofit organization that promotes public transit, bicycling and walking to work.
"One Less Car is a very small nonprofit, and I would be lying if I said it's been easy juggling a full schedule of events, advocacy and administrative minutiae," said Richard Chambers in an e-mailed statement.
Under Chambers, One Less Car successfully pushed for bike racks on all Maryland Transit Administration buses and a repeal of the state ban of cyclists and pedestrians on MTA bridges.
Carol Silldorff, a former consultant for Baltimore Green Week, was named interim executive director of the group.
No MARC service
on Boxing Day
A caller to Bumper chastised the column for not reminding MARC riders that there was no MARC service on the day after Thanksgiving. Bumper listens, so here's a note to MARC riders: No train service on Christmas or the day after. MARC will be running on a holiday schedule Christmas Eve.
Also, MARC is running additional trains to handle the influx of people wanting to attend the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20.
However, MARC will not accept regular tickets that day. Instead, the train service is charging a $25 fare for Inauguration Day trains. For a complete online schedule of inauguration trains, go to www.mtamaryland.com/
media/insidepages2008/
presidentialinauguration/
Inaugural_plan_bruns.pdf.
On Jan. 19, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, MARC is running regular train service on the Penn Line and the holiday schedule on the Brunswick and Camden lines.
Public comments on MARC changes due Dec. 26
Letters to the Maryland Transit Administration regarding a proposed cutback on MARC commuter train and MTA bus service are due to MTA by Dec. 26.
MTA held hearings in Maryland for public comments. People also can send in their comments by mail for consideration as well.
Address comments to:
Mr. Glenn Litsinger, MTA Office of Customer Information
6 St. Paul St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
Bumper to Bumper, a biweekly column dedicated to answering your questions related to transportation issues, is compiled and written by Staff Writer C. Benjamin Ford. Send questions, comments or tips to bumper@gazette.net. For past columns, log on to www.gazette.net.
