While the rising price of gasoline has many Indianapolis residents feeling a pinch in their wallets, not everyone thinks paying more for fuel is a bad thing.

Economists and environmentalists, two groups not often aligned, have both long argued the positive effects of high gas prices and see the current rise as a positive opportunity for environmental awareness and conservation.

“I don’t see any downside to the [higher] price of oil,” said professor of economics Dr. Esen Gurtunca of the University of Indianapolis, who called the recent increase in gas prices “very healthy.”

Gurtunca thinks Americans have been inefficient in their energy consumption for a long time and are finally being forced to consider their consumption habits. She compares adjusting to high gas prices to losing weight or getting an education; in the short term it may cause some suffering, but it is also a valuable investment in the future.

Jesse Kharbanda, Hoosier Environmental Council executive director, also sees a plus. “It provides an opportunity for an organization like ours to say, ‘Let’s see the upside or the silver lining here,’” and motivate people to take a greater interest in environment protection and conservation.

Dr. Robert Harris, an economics professor at IUPUI, concurs, noting that some of the short-term benefits to high gas prices include increased incentives for carpooling, mass transit and a general decrease in driving and fuel consumption.

Paying $4 a gallon for gas “seems to be a kind of magic tipping point,” according to Harris, that is motivating shifts in consumer behavior.

In Indianapolis, IndyGo ridership is up nearly 25 percent for the year. Anita Beverly, project manager for Central Indiana Commuter Services, which is part of IndyGo, said that interest in ride-sharing has also increased. Normally the CICS site, centralindianacommuter.net, averages about 1,500 hits a month, but Beverly said they have already received 2,500 hits in May.

IUPUI’s Harris is optimistic about statistics like these, but cautiously so. For these changes to be lasting, Harris said, the price of gas needs to remain high.

One potential detriment to this progress is the gas tax holiday that both the McCain and Clinton campaigns have proposed, and that Gov. Mitch Daniels recently said he might consider — a complete turnabout from his dismissal of the idea last year.

Like many economists, Gurtunca and Harris do not support the gas tax holiday, which, they say, may seem appealing to people struggling to fill their tank from week to week, but that would have an insignificant effect at best.

Harris called the idea of suspending the gas tax “catastrophically wrong,” noting that no serious economists support it (at least not for economic reasons). The problem, he explained, is that if the gas tax is repealed, oil companies are the ones who will most likely profit because they will be able to raise their prices with less consumer resistance.

Gurtunca said it also sends people the wrong message, which needs to be about cutting back on gas consumption. Harris agreed that it would probably cause people to revert to some of their old habits rather than continue seeking alternative transportation methods or conservation.

Economists also warn a gas tax holiday would take away what many consider much-needed funding for infrastructure.

“We’ve got big infrastructure problems right now,” Harris said, adding that without putting money into infrastructure repairs and improvements, incidents like the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota last summer during rush hour, killing 113 people, could become more common.

Kharbanda, Harris and Gurtunca all suggest increasing and improving mass transit systems as a better way for the government to help. But this is something Harris said encounters a lot more resistance in the United States than elsewhere in the world because of low population density, high-incomes and a culture that loves the automobile. The Midwest has a particularly low population density, making mass transit an even tougher sell here than elsewhere in the U.S.

Harris is hopeful, however, because he believes high fuel costs make mass transit a more viable option than ever.

The IndyGo bus system in Indianapolis is “doing pretty well for where we are,” Harris said, adding there is still room for improvement. Those improvements are more likely with increased ridership and revenue that would give IndyGo the opportunities to expand services and routes.

April 30, the Indianapolis Regional Transportation Council voted unanimously to proceed with public meetings to present the recommendation of the light-rail Nickel Plate Line, the first of seven in a proposed regionwide rapid transit system.

Kharbanda and Harris both expressed excitement at the possibility of this first light rail system, which will be the subject of a series of public meetings this summer.

Kharbanda encourages people to “vote with their feet” by attending these meetings and expressing their interest. “We really are at a unique moment in the state’s history,” he said.

Get on board

The Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority will hold several Public meetings on the proposed light rail system.

For more information, visit www.cirta.us

June 17, 6 p.m.
Gene B. Glick Junior Achievement Education Center, 7435 N. Keystone Ave., Indianapolis

June 18, 7 p.m.
Fishers Town Hall, 1 Municipal Drive, Fishers

June 24, 6 p.m.
Central Library, 1 Library Square, 40 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis