Some grist for the discussion mill:

-According to the Inflation Calculator the $.50/gal gas of 1973 would cost $2.55/gal today just due to inflation.
-According to oil company ads there is plenty of oil. It is just getting more expensive to produce. So, higher prices are in order.
-According to TV news people are driving much less when compared to prior years.
-According to the same news there is excess refining capacity thus demonstrating that availability is not driving the current price spike.
-For the US it appears that places that rely on Canadian oil, mainly the Rocky Mountain area, have lower gas prices than either coast. Thus indicating that the price spike is not due to quantity available but source.

So, there is every indication the current price woes in the US and around the globe are due almost exclusively to those favorite villians, The Financial Industry. Their fears, hopes and profit goals are being played out in the commodities market. That this has serious effects on everyone else is quite incidental.

How does this all play in the context of this topic? After all this thread is about bicycle use.

I see an increase in bicycle use where climate and daily life permit. But, because the US infrastructure is inextricably linked to the highway system I don't see that change as being more than a marginal one. What I do see is a growth in the fuel conversion industry changing vehicles from gasoline/diesel to natural gas as a fuel source. The world is almost literally awash in natural gas.

Plus, in today's global economy getting enough money to make major changes in infrastructure is going to be pretty near impossilbe. Add to that the demonstrated fact that as soon as poor people get enough money they change from bike to car and it becomes clear that bicycles are mostly at the margin transportation.