He said motorcycle sales at his Southern Indiana store are on pace with last year, despite a softer economy in 2001. Miles said he believes sales will remain strong because people want an alternative to cars and trucks. They want something manageable that they can learn to ride on and feel comfortable with. Franklin Ensor, owner of Station Park Honda of Louisville, said high gas prices have been foremost on the minds of many customers who have visited his shop in recent weeks. Before, you wouldn't hear that real often, but with the way prices have risen, it's on everybody's minds.
People are tired of paying high gas prices, and they are starting to look at alternatives.
TARC benefiting from price increase The Transit Authority of River City also has begun to see an increase in bus ridership that might be related to increasing gas prices. Mike Kuzmich, director of marketing and planning for TARC, said preliminary ridership figures for April 2001 show that 1,254,288 people rode TARC buses. That follows a 3.3-percent decline in ridership from 1999 to 2000, according to the American Public Transit Association. I think the gas prices are having some effect, but I don't think prices are high enough that the majority of people are changing their transportation habits. Hopefully, increased acclimation to the program and the rising gas prices will mean more riders this summer.