OTTAWA -- With some economists
predicting gas prices will
hit the $1.50 a litre mark this summer,
Canadians may begin trading
planes, trains and automobiles for
buses, bikes and scooters.
While a switch is seen as positive
for the environment, it has left
some cities dealing with the looming
problem of overcrowded transit
systems.
Buses in Ottawa are already running
at capacity and leaving passengers
stranded at bus stops after
ridership surged in February, when
the transit service took on 5.8 per
cent more passengers than at the
same time the year before.
Toronto also is seeing more commuters
taking public transit.
"Our ridership has been steadily
increasing in the past few months,"
said Danny Nicholson, a spokesman
for the Toronto Transit Commission.
He cautioned against attributing
the price of gas as the sole reason
for the spike.
"But it's fair to say the rising cost
(of fuel) does have a positive effect
on our ridership."
In Quebec City, ridership is expected
to jump to 41 million in
2008, from 38 million in 2006 according
to the Reseau de transport
de la Capitale.
While commuters cram into buses
and subways, others are digging
deep into their garages, dusting off
old skateboards, roller blades and
bicycles.
"It's gone insane," said Simon
Coutts, who owns Simon's Bike
Shop in downtown Vancouver.
"I've had guys come in here and
say 'we've sold our second car and
we're getting bikes.'"
Coutts said his repair business
also is booming.
"I've got people bringing in old
bikes -- you know, I think they got
them in the mid '80s or something."
Using the spike in gas prices
as a kind of free advertising, private
transportation companies are
dreaming up creative ways to draw
more riders. Paul Wren, general
manager of public transit operator
Transdev Limocar, which operates
several regional and intercity bus
routes in Quebec, said he's hoping
one day to offer perks like free
wireless Internet on certain routes.
Since gas prices hit a minimum
of $1.20 a litre a week ago, retailers
have seen a surge in scooter sales.
Currently, it costs roughly between
$50 and $60 to fill a small car,
but Dan Witmer says he only had to
scrounge $6.75 out of his pocket to
fill up his scooter.
"In Europe, scooters are a way of
life. Over here, it was always about
getting a car first and a scooter
would be a second vehicle but now
they are becoming more accepted,"
said Witmer, part owner of Gear
Heads, which sells scooters and motorcycles
in Ottawa.
Gerard Plunkett, owner of Vancouver's
Green Electric Bikes, says
people who don't want to use a gaspowered
vehicle or tire themselves
out riding a bike to work should
consider an electric-powered bike.
"There has been a tremendous
increase in people looking for these
vehicles," he said. "Gas prices are
one aspect but I think in 2007 there
was an environmental wake-up call
and people are looking for better
ways to get around."
Carpooling -- once something a
few neighbours might get together
to do in a suburb -- is now a national
phenomenon.
The websites carpool.ca and
eRideShare.com are gaining huge
momentum, the Facebook and Myspace
of the carpooling world. The
North American site eRideShare.
com boasts 1,105 Canadians from
almost every major city while Carpool.
ca has 9,281 potential carpoolers.
-- Canwest News Service
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