With gas prices hitting an all time high, consumers are feeling the burn at the pump. But some commuters in Idaho are finding a cheaper, healthier way out. From saving money to skipping traffic jams, it seems the bicycle is becoming the ultimate urban escape from rising fuel costs.
Will this cycling boom last, or will people head back to their cars if prices drop? This week, reporter Mohammad Nawabi took to the streets of Boise to talk to the people who ditched their cars for handlebars.
TRANSCRIPT:
I like using the bike because I can use the green belt and I get places probably about just as quick, but I don't have to worry about insurance and car payments and stuff like that. My name is Garrett Neese. I rather have a car because I could travel far, but right now it's nice and with the gas prices going up, it makes it a whole lot easier to not be too upset about having a car because it's so expensive.
I live in a real small town here in North Idaho, and so I can pretty easily get around town to run errands, to grocery shop, and do the things that I need to do. Riding a bike. My name is Cathleen Sanborn. I live in Wallace, Idaho. It was mostly based on trying to save money and trying to save energy. If I don't need to drive a car, I don't want to drive a car. I would much rather be outside. And so the gas prices really pushed me into doing it. And when I bought the bike, it was July and the gas prices were not as high as they are now. And so I'm very thankful that I have this bike that I don't have to be spending all the money on gas that I would have been if I continued to drive around town to run my errands. And so it just felt like I was doing better things for my pocketbook and for the environment by not driving the car.
I live about three miles away from my office. I take the greenbelt almost every day. I'm Bryan Bennion, I've lived in Boise for about nine years now. About 6 or 7 years ago, we ran into an issue where we weren't making very much money. The jobs were pretty tight, and we were having a hard time paying for both the cost of the car and the insurance and the gas. We sold that and saved us a lot of money in the long term.