With gasoline prices passing $4 per gallon in the mid-valley this week, public transit in Corvallis is doing the driving for scores more people than a year ago.

Bus riders like Neil Goudriaan of Corvallis are planning time in the day for a few minutes at the bus stop and finding some added benefits.

“It’s not so much spur-of-the-moment to go places. You have a timeline,” Goudriaan said. “It does give me more chances to read.”

So far this year, Corvallis Transit System has carried nearly 12 percent more riders than during the first five months of 2007.

“Our ridership is definitely up,” said Tim Bates, city transit coordinator. “We expect to go over 600,000 rides this year, and that will easily break our record.”

But while riders are opting for the bus to help their pocketbook, the city’s bus service is also reeling from high fuel prices. Bates said the city’s bulk cost for diesel rose from $2.20 per gallon in April 2007 to $3.47 per gallon last month, an increase of almost 60 percent.

“We’ve had to work within our budget and find money in the existing budget,” Bates said. “We’ll have enough to get there.”

Thanks to a new infusion of funding by the city’s budget commission, the transit system will undergo the biggest change in service in years.

Starting this summer, CTS is proposing extended hours, more frequent service and a few new bus routes. Routes haven’t been revised since 2006, when minor modifications were made to routes and time schedules.

Commissioners recommended adding $180,000 each year to the city’s transit budget, starting in the next fiscal year. The City Council will formally decide the city’s budget in June.

City staff collected public comment on the route changes earlier this month. The city’s Transit Advisory Commission will consider those comments on June 11 and make a final decision on the changes at the end of next month.

For Kathleen Henderson of Corvallis, riding the bus is more than just an economic choice.

“I believe riding the bus is the best option for the environment,” she said while waiting in the downtown transit station. That said, she did suggest adding shuttles between places like Oregon State University and the Benton Center, to make the system more usable.

“It’s good overall, but the bus system could use some improvement,” she said.

Fuel topS $4 per gallon

Corvallis motorists on Wednesday found average gas prices rising to $4.02 per gallon for regular unleaded — almost 40 cents more than a month ago.

The price of a gallon of gas statewide hit $3.97, up 17 cents over last week’s price.

Crude oil prices dropped slightly to $129 per barrel this week compared to $135 a barrel a week ago. Crude cost $113 per barrel at the beginning of May.

Meanwhile, AAA reported that Americans appear to be cutting back on the number of miles they drive. The Federal Highway Administration shows estimated miles traveled on U.S. public roads in March declined by 4.2 percent or 11 billion miles year-over-year, the largest drop for any month since the agency started recording figures in 1942.

Demand isn’t really an indicator of prices in this upswing, said Marie Dodds, spokeswoman for AAA.

“There are lots of reports that would indicate demand is down this season,” she said. “But while Americans seem to be driving less, there’s demand in other parts of the world such as India, China and parts of Eastern Europe who are using more oil products.”

— By Matt Neznanski