SALINAS, Calif.- Since gas is so expensive, we went to work to ask the question, is public transportation the answer to our pain at the pump? We found out for some people in Monterey County, taking public transportation is starting to look a whole lot more attractive.
"You have to spend gas to get gas. It's pretty tough. But its sort of one of those things where you're stuck between a rock and a hard place," said a driver in Salinas.
Monterey Salinas Transit said it's in a hard spot too because service isn't as plentiful on the Central Coast compared to areas of similar size.
"Monterey County residents are part of the 10 percent of the population in California that live in a county that does not have a dedicated source of transit funding," said Monterey Salinas Transit CEO Carl Sedoryk.
But Cal State Monterey Bay transportation planner Megan Tolbert said she's seen a big increase in the number of students taking the bus-ridership is up by about 600%. She thinks it's because they beefed up service.
"Convenience or access available to you, it tips you towards a different mode and different behavior when something becomes inconvenient, even if it's the cost," said Tolbert.
On Friday, we spent $4.69 a gallon to fill up our 2005 Ford Explorer with gas. It gets about 19 miles per gallon. To put this into perspective, we drove from the bus stop at the Monterey Regional Airport to the transit center in Salinas. The trip by car cost $3.94 in gas. A ride on the bus it would've cost $3.50 and carpooling would've been even cheaper.
MST said while a few cents may not seem like much, it's the savings over time that you'll really start to notice-plus less maintenance on your car. Tolbert thinks if public transportation becomes more accessible for everyone, it may become the solution. She said drivers also need to give rideshare a chance, because it's the most flexible option.
"The fastest way to give yourself a raise is to stop driving your car and paying high gas prices," Tolbert said.
