All through the United States, public transportation had been under-utilized. Everybody wanted their autonomy, and it was a small expense to do so. As a result, many of the established public transit programs have not grown to their potential.

Now that the oil crisis is deepening, those people who were happily driving their Hummer H2s to work from their houses 40 miles away are now coming to grips with their true vulnerability. Now that there is a new influx of people trying to use the trains and busses, many cities are finding that they are not prepared.

Case in point: Chicago sold some of their old, tired commuter rail cars to Virginia many years ago for $1 apiece. Now that everyone is trying to take the trains in Chicago, they are now negotiating to buy the same cars back for $10,000 each.

Yes, people should use public transportation more, but Federal, State and local authorities also have to cooperate too, and make the systems so they can accommodate growth, while keeping it attractive to new customers.