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Posted: Monday, 12 May 2008 10:03AM
Gas Hits Another Record, More Turn to Buses
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Dearborn (WWJ) -- For the fourth week in a row, AAA Michigan says gas prices are at a record high.
AAA says prices are averaing $3.84 a gallon, 19 cents higher than last week, which was also a record high at the time. The Dearborn-based auto club said prices are 60 cents higher than one year ago.
The cheap spot in the state is Lansing, at $3.81, though Detroit is a close second at $3.82. The most expensive spot is in Traverse City, at $3.89 on average.
Meantime, the high gas prices is pushing more people to public transit. Hayes Jones, General Manager of SMART, told WWJ that ridership is up amid record pump prices.
"We're finding people leaving their cars in the driveway or the garage just to go to the grocery store. People are now using the bus for even short rides because it is extremely expensive to drive short distances as well as driving long distances," said Jones.
So all the extra business is good for SMART, right? Not necessarily. Jones said, "This year, we are looking to spend an additional $3 million dollars for gas, so it's not really helping us improve our bottom line."
For now, though, Jones says there are no plans to raise fares. SMART has about 300 diesel-burning buses in its fleet.
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