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As the prices at the pump get higher more people turn to public transportation.
Tom Dugan is the Executive Director of CARTA. He's seen an increase in bus riders this spring. "We see it on all the routes, all the times of the day. We're seeing it actually 10% on weekdays, 10% on Saturdays and 20% on Sundays, so we're seeing it on weekends everywhere."
As gas prices go up more people ride the bus. But that also means it costs more for that service. On average, rider fees only cover 15% of the operating budget.
"It does bring in some added revenue," says Dugan. "We've probably brought in $100,000 more in revenue but we've got $1,000,000 more in fuel costs so the offset isn't there yet."
If you live in an outlying community where buses aren't an option you can always carpool-- but that's not something many Chattanoogans embrace.
Rusty Mosby isn't able to share a ride to work. "In my job I can't carpool. I work out of town all the time so carpooling's just not, it wouldn't work for me," he says. But he is shopping for a fuel-efficient car.
It seems a lot of Chattanoogans aren't sharing a ride. A national website called eRideShare.com [2] hooks up carpoolers in U.S. Cities. While Knoxville has 23 listings and Huntsville has 10, Chattanooga's site has only one carpooler posting.
Autumn Murphy thinks carpooling is a good idea. "It saves gas, really. Because the more you carpool the less you drive," she adds.
Murphy says she has shared a ride with co-workers in the past some, but now it's a necessity.
Regina Britt carpools with her husband while school is in session. "When you have a family of four kids or three kids, you have to," explains Britt.
But now that it's summer, this teacher like many other Chattanoogans travels alone.
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