What’s at stake?
The war in Iran has led to an increase in fuel costs. Cities and counties across the country have seen their residents start biking and taking the bus more as they look to ditch their cars to save a few dollars.
Now, with gas prices looking like they’ll only get worse before they get better — and grocery store prices not far behind — will county residents consider similar car alternatives to save some money?
Day Smith takes shelter underneath some shade at the Manchester Transit Center. She’s waiting for the FAX Route 1 bus to come save her from this particular sweltering hot spring day.
Smith said she used to have a car, but ditched it after she got a bill for repair costs that she couldn’t afford. And, in the midst of a seemingly unending upward trend for fuel costs, she thinks she made the right decision.
She said she doesn’t miss her car all that much, especially since she was spending about $30 a week on gas.
“But it was nice to have an air conditioner for times like these,” she joked. “Or to have a heater when it gets cold.”
Manuel Fernandez, another commuter at the transit center, said he’s been riding in his car less frequently as of late. He’s starting to use it only for long-distance travel or when he goes out at night.
Fernandez and Smith could be, at least partially, part of a trend seen in cities and counties across the country, where residents have begun to ditch their cars in favor of public transportation, biking, and shared electric scooters and bicycles as a way to save some money.
Those increased costs can be traced back to Feb. 28 when the United States began a war with Iran. The war has brought a rise to fuel prices at home, and with no end to the conflict in sight, those costs may only get worse.
The costs have especially impacted California’s “super commuters” and low-income residents, especially as grocery prices also continue to rise.
Cities with robust transit systems, like Los Angeles, have public infrastructure or incentive programs in place to encourage residents to make the switch.
However, regions like Fresno have long been much more car-dependent. That could be why early data suggests that Fresno-area commuters aren’t exactly racing away from their vehicles, though it’s likely still too early to say for sure.
FAX, the city’s transportation department, saw 918,187 riders in March, a 4.17% increase from the same month last year, according to data shared from Gregory Barfield, the city’s transportation director. Barfield also said that’s the most riders March has seen in the last decade.
In a separate interview in April, Barfield said that, at least anecdotally based on reports from drivers and staff, there was a clear increase in bus ridership in FAX. But he stopped short of attributing the increase to higher gas prices.
“It’s always hard to tell,” Barfield said. “We don’t do a survey everyday of riders.”
He added that reasons for taking the bus can include gas prices, but they can also range from anything like somebody wanting to take a break from their car for a day or two, to a resident having their car sent in for repairs.
In recent years, FAX has seen its ridership slowly climb back up to pre-pandemic levels, with data signaling that the city has been faring better than some other large municipalities across the country.
When asked if FAX considers making an effort to pursue and retain new clientele during riderships boosts like one seen in March, Barfield said no, citing an understanding of the status quo.
“Although we want folks to understand that for $1, here’s a great benefit of public transportation…this is a single-car rider community, right?” Barfield said, “who love their freeways and love to zip back and forth between downtown and north or from north and downtown. So it’s kind of hard to capture those people long term.”
FAX ridership data for the prior month comes out in the middle of the following month.
Recently, Barfield shared with Fresnoland that FAX bus ridership for April came in at 877,939 — a decrease of 3.8% from the same month last year.
If there were any gains attributed to the increase in fuel costs for FAX, they may have been short lived.
John Pulido is the general manager at Fresno Schwinn, a bike shop on the southwest corner of Ashlan and North Fresno Street. He said that he’s noticed an uptick in foot traffic at his store, but attributed the change more to the shop’s routine high and low seasons.
“We thought so, too,” Pulido said, “that with the increase in gas prices that we would see an uptick on e-bike (sales). But, as of right now, it’s just been steady.”
He added that his store is approaching a busy season with the weather warming up.
If there ever was an unusually high uptick for Pulido and his store, it was years ago. He said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many customers flocked to his store to purchase e-bikes, considered the most common bicycle for commuters ditching their cars.
“We were exploding with bike sales,” Pulido recalled. “We could not keep a bike at the shop.”
Pulido said the community’s interest in e-bikes has carried over, with his store showing “a steady, but not super increase in sales” for those bikes. He wonders if the trend will spike again as gas prices continue to increase.
“We are just barely stepping our foot in the pool with e-bikes to see how that goes,” he said.
Joseph Mauzy, a front-end employee at The Bike Shop @ Woodward, said his store has seen similar trends in recent years.
“Economy is a big factor, I would say, in general,” Mauzy said. “High gas prices do encourage people to ride their bikes, so it’s been getting busier.”
E-bikes have also been on trend for the last five years at The Bike Shop @ Woodward. But as far as recent sales are concerned, Mauzy said, he’s had “very minimal people actually express” high gas prices as the reason for their purchase.
In spite of Fresno’s reputation as a car-dependent landscape, advocates have continued to lobby the city to invest in biking infrastructure.
Fresno has spent more money and begun to pursue implementing riders safety plans in recent years. While gains have been made to improve rider safety – though there is still work to be done.
Back at the Manchester Center, Smith said she’s not entirely shocked at the data and stories from people like Barfield and the bike shop owners. She said for many, the switch is ultimately still too inconvenient for many to commit to long term.
To use the bus, “you have to get up early sometimes,” Smith said. “You have to plan ahead, or plan your day a bit differently than you’re used to.”
Still, she said she wanted to make clear that her experience riding the bus has not matched any negative stereotypes that can sometimes be attached to the experience.
“I think some people are just embarrassed or scared…for whatever reason,” Smith said. “And so they don’t ride the bus. Instead, if people don’t have a car, they’ll order an Uber, which is still expensive.”
California has a few weeks of gas left following reduced fuel supplies amid the ongoing war in Iran.
It’s still hard to tell just how high gas will spike when that happens.
