From the San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...oing_back.html
Even with cheaper gas prices, convert to VIA isn't going back
Ken Rodriguez
The Wal-Mart parking lot in Stone Oak is jammed with cars — and not because of a killer sale on turkeys.
It's Tuesday morning, 7:30, and the store is barely awake.
People didn't drive in to shop. They pulled in to catch the bus.
VIA's popular Express Route No. 6 began picking up passengers at 5:34 a.m.
Dan Mokry is here for the 7:38 pickup, dressed for work, historical novel in hand.
“I didn't start reading novels until I started riding the bus,” says Mokry, who works for AT&T. “It's 25 minutes to work, 25 minutes back. You can get a lot of reading done in that time.”
Mokry began riding the bus in early September when gas cost about $3.75 a gallon at his neighborhood convenience store.
Today, Mokry can buy fuel at the same station for $2.11. Despite the price drop, he refuses to drive to the office.
“If gas went to 10 cents a gallon,” he says, “I'd still take the bus.”
In two months, Mokry has become addicted to stress-free commutes. He can read, chat with passengers or close his eyes and drift.
No matter how low gas goes, driving can't beat those perks.
Others seem to agree. As fuel prices plummeted from September to October, VIA ridership increased 4.5 percent.
A preliminary estimate shows VIA recorded more than 4.3 million passenger trips in October — a record, says spokeswoman Priscilla Ingle.
It's been a good year for VIA. The transit system added new routes and thousands of passengers, including a number of bike-and-ride patrons.
Though a slight increase in fares is probable for next year, prices remain affordable for most.
I've met riders who take the bus for environmental reasons. I've met others who ride to avoid rush-hour traffic. But most began using the bus to save money.
Not long ago, the thinking for Stone Oak residents like Mokry was: Why spend $4 or more to drive to work when you can buy an Express bus ticket for $2 — or a monthly pass for $25?
For commuters who didn't need to drive after arriving at work, the bus made sense.
But now that it's easy to find gas for less than $2 a gallon, will VIA keep its passengers?
Thomas Roszak thinks so. He's one driver on the No. 6 Express.
“The numbers are going up,” he says. “Look at the cars.”
From his driver's seat, he points to a crush of parked trucks, SUVs and mini-vans.
Business is brisk, all right.
The No. 6 Express logged 16,545 passenger trips in October. Compare that with April, when the No. 6 Express logged a then-record 12,515 trips.
On Tuesday, a government holiday, Ingle was unable to determine if October marked another record-breaking month for the No. 6 Express.
Historically, she says, ridership numbers for all routes are high in October and lower in November.
No one knows what November might yield. But Mokry knows this. He's not driving to work anymore. No way.
It doesn't matter that he gets around in a small car (a 1999 Toyota Camry). Doesn't matter that it gets 25 miles per gallon.
Mokry is a convert, a true believer in public transportation.
If the soaring cost of fuel chased him to VIA, falling prices won't pry him away. As Mokry boards the No. 6 Express, it looks like he's on for the long haul.
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