According to the American Public Transportation Authority, from April to June 2008, MARTA saw the largest ridership increase (15.6%)  vs. same period year-ago (21.5 million vs. 18.6 million) among all heavy rail systems nationwide.  (and yes, I’m overlooking San Juan, Puerto Rico  primarily because its an unincorporated territory, not a state, but also because its so freaking small that a 20% gain is much easier to accomplish).

Whether these increases will decline along with the recent drop in the price of oil is yet to be seen.  But regardless, one thing seems certain..compared to other U.S. cities, we Atlantans seem to be the most motivated by the price of a gallon of gas. OR could it possibly be that we were just the most inclined to forgo riding, not because it is overly inconvenient (though that’s a favorite excuse), but because we’re just not comfortable with the idea of interacting with others on the way to work (even if its just an occasional “excuse me”) .

Thanks to Creative Loafing for paying Thomas Wheatley to scour these numerous “Association” websites to come up with this stuff.  I hope they provide a good vision plan.