Gas prices driving bicycle sales?

An Associated Press story from Bismarck, N.D. on the weekend suggests that higher gasoline prices are driving a renewed interest in the cycling alternative. You can see the article at: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080511/work_bikes.html

I'm always a little skeptical about such stories, just because I think it takes more than rising gasoline prices to change transportation behaviour. We've watched gas prices edge up over the past year, and we are well into the territory that for some countries, just a few years ago, led to riots in the streets. And people are still filling their SUVs at the local gas bar.

We need a cycling infrastructure and peer acceptance before the "Golden Age" of cycling returns.

But there is always hope . . .

Comments

[AlanM]

This story in the Globe and Mail on May 7 says the same thing, with the added impetus of uncertainty of TTC continuing service in the face of labour troubles:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080507.wbikes07/BNStory/National/

And in London, England, a quick Google search yields a plethora of articles citing rising fuel costs, coupled with tarrifs that burden motorists with a higher share of the costs of taking vehicles into the downtown area, creating a growth boom in utility cycling.

The world is changing, and the pace is ever-accelerating. Yes, there is hope indeed.
...alan

[Jeff]

I've noticed more cyclists on the road this year than last, and more bikes parked where I work than last year. Gas prices are definitely having an effect.