Gas guzzlers and ‘ghostburbs’

High oil prices are having a dramatic effect in the US, with public transport riding high and SUV production falling. Now, energy policy has moved to centre-stage in the coming presidential election.

SUV factories closing, bicycle sales and train use rocketing, commuter belts becoming “ghostburbs” as residents flock to the inner cities . . . welcome to 2008 America, where soaring oil and petrol prices have triggered a sudden revolution in travel behaviour and a seismic upheaval in the automobile industry.

Four dollars (


As environmentalists quietly applaud from the sidelines, consumers are either abandoning their beloved SUVs for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles or turning in droves to alternative forms of transport.

From Denver to Dallas, from Seattle to Salt Lake City, bus and train use is up by 10%-15% on 2007. In cities that have invested in new light rail services, passenger growth is phenomenal – up 35% in Charlotte, North Carolina, and 28% on a commuter rail link between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida. Traditionally, the poor, under-resourced relation in the US travel system, public transport is suddenly riding high. “In almost every transit system . . . we’re seeing very high rates of growth the last few months,” reports William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association.

Guardian