Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
No they won't, and yes, they will.
Gas could go to $10 a gallon and maybe 1% (but probably not) of people driving cars might think about riding a bike.
Mostly people will just start screaming, and will cut back on other things instead.
The real problem is that people won't view bicycle riding as a real alternative to having a car, they will view it as a hardship, something that they're driven to and will want to blame someone for it. We do it because we want to, each for their own reason. To the vast, vast majority of americans, riding a bike would be humiliating, and perhaps equivalent to going to a food bank and getting a box of mac and cheese to feed your family; something you'd do if you were forced to, but you'd hate every second of it, find someone you could blame it on to demonize and hate for it, and stop doing it the moment you could.
I agree completely. For those who can do entirely without a car I think it does make a difference financially. For me it's not really the money. I like the rush, the exercise, the sights, and being just a little different. I do remember thinking (fearing) from my early teens, however, what will happen if we (the world) runs out of gas.