Public transportation is absolutely not an option for me, my city's buses don't even go to the part of town where I work, neither is biking, it's 30 minutes across town in traffic. Besides with a 2 year old to take back and forth from daycare it wouldn't be practical anyway. So there's nothing I can do except STFU and pay, wincing every time because I can remember when it was less than $1/gal here.
I'm seeing alot of Priuses on the road here, but the majority of people in the south still drive SUVs or trucks. It's a 1 year waiting list at the dealer to get a Prius here - the problem with that is, why pay $21k+ for a car that gets 50 mpg and can only be serviced by the dealer, when I can get a used Civic coupe with a standard for $5-10k (depending on mileage, year, etc) that gets close to 40mpg and can be worked on by me or anyone else? The hybrids are an awesome idea, getting better every year, but they're just not cost effective yet. Though the consipracy theorist in me says that when they DO get that way, and a majority of people have them, gas prices will just shoot up to accomodate and nothing will actually change.
SUVs though, very few people actually need them, I have a small 80s Nissan truck and a little 99 Kia, and I get by just fine even with a 2 yr old in tow. I have absolutely no need for anything bigger. One good thing about everyone driving huge SUVs is, eventually the oil will start to run out. Not anytime soon, but eventually, and with China becoming a major gas consumer it'll hasten the process. Then there'll be no choice but to look at alternatives. I say let's get everyone across the globe in a Hummer and use that shit up fast as possible. (except me of course, I ain't paying $100 to fill up, no way
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