Despite what some readers might think, I'm not cheering for rising gas prices. I would love to have a modest increase in the gas tax, though that's something which is obviously much less likely to happen when gas prices are high.
But Layman's point is correct, that in most of the country there is complete dependence on gas. A few more people can use the park-n-ride, carpool, etc... but short term at least, demand for gas is highly inelastic.
Even in my metro area, while the transit is pretty good (if not cheap) for people who commute into the city, it's pretty abysmal otherwise. There isn't all that much that can be done, given the way the area has been developed. And regional rail ridership is at record levels, which means those peak trains are pretty full.
