dan kriminalitas meningkat dibarengi dgn kenaikan harga barang2?
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:07:25 -0700Subject: [BinusNet] Solusi kemacetan Jakarta? Mungkin dengan menaikkan gas-price, jumlah kendaraan akan menurun?KOkon.http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/28/news/economy/driving/index.htm?cnn=yesAmericans ditching the carCommuters are driving less, the federal government says. Workers areleaving their cars at home and finding other ways to get to work.Highway funds at risk.By Kenneth Musante and Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writersLast Updated: July 28, 2008: 4:07 PM EDTNEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles inMay compared with a year earlier, according to a report Monday fromthe Federal Highway Administration."We have seen the longest decline in vehicular miles traveled since westarted collecting this data," said U.S. Transportation Secretary MaryE. Peters in a conference call with reporters.Peters said that in the first four months of this year, Americanstraveled 40.5 billion miles less compared with the same period in2007. She said the decline in usage means less tax revenue for highwaysystem.Many of these commuters are flocking to trains, buses and bikes, ortelecommuting from home.Rising gas prices are to blame for the driving decline, and the use ofpublic transportation is soaring, said Virginia Miller, spokeswomanfor the American Public Transit Association, a private trade group."It does seem that we are on track to beat last year's record [publictransportation] ridership," she said, noting that the 2007 tally of10.3 billion public transit trips was a 50-year high."That can really only be explained by the large increase in gasprices," said Miller.Gasoline prices soared in May, rising for 24 consecutive days in themonth, and breaking the psychologically significant $4-a-gallonbarrier in many states, according to data from motorist group AAA.The FHA said that driving in May experienced the third-largest monthlydrop since the agency, a division of the U.S. Department ofTransportation that manages the nation's highways and bridges, begancollecting data 66 years ago. It was the largest drop for any May, amonth that usually sees driving increase due to the Memorial Dayholiday, the agency said. Three of those largest monthly declines haveoccurred since December, as unusually high fuel prices take a toll ondrivers.Trains, buses, bikes, telecommutingMany of these drivers switched to public transportation. Usage jumpedin the first three months of the year by 88 million trips from a yearago, for a total of 2.6 billion, according to the most recent figuresavailable from the APTA.Some of the most dramatic increases occurred in the light rail systemsin Baltimore, Minneapolis and St. Louis, the commuter rails of Seattleand Harrisburg, Penn., the buses of San Antonio and Denver, and thesubways and elevated rails of and Boston.The Boston Globe reported Monday that the Massachusetts BayTransportation Authority broke a ridership record of 375 millionpassengers in fiscal year 2008, which is 21 million more than theprior year.Other commuters, like Eric Creese, a senior database administrator inEagan, Minn., switched to muscle power for commuting. Creese, a formertriathloner, said that high gas prices inspired him to "get back" intobiking."I asked myself, 'Why drive 150 miles a week when I can save my car,my money and do something good for my body and environment,?'" saidCreese, who said he has biked 1,000 miles to work since May and savedabout $250 in gas.Now Creese runs a Web site - GasFreeCommute.com - for bike commuters,with calculators to estimate calories burned and gasoline saved. Hisco-workers have logged their miles on his site, totaling 5,400 so far.And if commuters really want to save money, they'll stay at home, saidChuck Wilsker, president and co-founder of The Telework Coalition.Wilsker estimates the nationwide tally of telecommuters to increase by4 or 5 million workers this year, from an estimated 28 million at thestart of 2008."If you want to quickly reduce your commuting costs by 20%, leave yourcar at home one day a week; if you want to reduce your costs by 40%,leave your car at home two days," said Wilsker, who telecommutes fromhis suburban Maryland home to Washington, D.C.Not only does Wilsker save on gas, but he said he saves on automotivewear and tear, lunch and dry cleaning."You know what I'm wearing?" said Wilsker. "I'm wearing shorts,sandals and a tank top. I'm sitting here working from home. My drycleaning bill is none."Feds get squeezed on taxesAs high fuel costs led many to rely on other forms of transportation,such as mass transit, and to cut back their miles on the road thisyear, the reduced driving also sliced tax revenue that would normallygo toward highway maintenance, the FHA said.The federal tax on gas generates 18.4 cents per gallon of regular gassold and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel, which gets pumped into the federal Highway Trust Fund. Some states also add a tax of theirown to fund various projects.The FHA budget totaled $42.18 billion in fiscal year 2008. The BushAdministration has requested $40.14 billion for fiscal year 2009.As Americans drive less, new ways are needed to fund the national roadsystem, the highway agency said. Even though fewer drivers are usingthe highways, funding is still critical, party because of a backlog inhighway projects.Peters said she would unveil a new plan on Tuesday to "fundamentallyreform our nation's transportation." She said much of the plan willfocus on calculating a better cost-benefit analysis for maintainingthe national highway system, as well as "weaning ourselves from thegas tax over time."First Published: July 28, 2008: 9:45 AM EDT [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
