Bad news at the pump was good news for the Anchorage People Mover, our city bus system. Gas prices near $4.50 a gallon boosted ridership to standing room only on some of the popular routes in town last summer. On Route 102, the Peters Creek-Downtown-Alaska Native Medical Center run, rush-hour buses often ran full. Routes like the 45, which usually has plenty of riders, picked up more, sometimes to standing room only.

The result? People Mover expects a record-breaking ridership in 2008 of 4.2 million.

The previous record, 4 million riders, came way back in 1982, when gas prices had also spiked and People Mover offered more frequent service. The system has 25 percent fewer buses now than it did in 1982.

This year's record ridership includes both residents for whom the bus has long been a lifeline and necessity, and those who found the bus a welcome antidote to sticker shock at the gas station.

Once aboard, some of those new riders find that the bus works for them -- a practical and less expensive way to get where you're going, even as gas prices return to earth. If you're not an everyday commuter, the system is there when you need it, provides an alternative means to get to work, school and shopping.

And as more people ride and demand goes up, the People Mover can become more efficient even as it improves service. The keys to a good public transit system are convenience, frequency and safety. More buses on busy routes will attract more riders.

Riding the bus means less congestion and less pollution, but that won't fill the seats if the bus schedule can't do better than triple your travel time. The working standard for a bus system is how well it can get you around town, not how many other vehicles it takes off the road.

With 4.2 million riders this year, the People Mover is getting closer to that standard. And with the volatility of gas prices and the uncertainty of this economy, we have even more reason to use and appreciate good public transportation.

Those who still give the bus short shrift should think twice. Public and private transit are not mutually exclusive. A good bus system isn't going to force anyone out of his or her car. A good bus system will, however, give you more than one way to go.

BOTTOM LINE: City should keep up work to build a better People Mover.

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