Andrew Shain and Richard Rubin
Visiting
a region where motorists are paying 70 cents more a gallon for gas than
they did a year ago, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
promised Tuesday that the Bush administration is working aggressively
to lower pump prices.
Mineta
outlined Bush's plan, which calls for investigating price run-ups,
reforming fuel-efficiency standards, speeding refinery expansion and
promoting fuel alternatives.
"Americans
should not be held back by high oil prices," Mineta said, standing on
the construction site of Charlotte's light-rail maintenance center on
South Boulevard. "With a combination of common sense and ingenuity, we
want to make today's pain at the gas pumps yesterday's news."
That's unlikely, said critics of the president's plan.
They
expected the price investigation would clear the oil companies, just as
other federal probes have in the past. "They would have found something
after (Hurricane) Katrina," said Rob Thompson, consumer advocate for
the N.C. Public Interest Research Group. "It's all a political gesture."
Critics
also contend that bolstering fuel production will prolong the nation's
addiction to oil, while fuel efficiency won't improve much by boosting
mileage in SUVs and light trucks only 2.4 miles per gallon over five
years. "That's nowhere close to near what we need," said Therese Langer
of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.
Public transportation will play a role, Mineta said, citing the city's $427 million light-rail system set to open in fall 2007.
The
Charlotte Area Transit System reported a 9.2 percent increase in bus
ridership in March, compared with the same month last year. The biggest
gains have come on its longest routes -- the express buses to Concord,
Gastonia, Mooresville, Rock Hill and Union and Lincoln counties.
