Where is the American Driver's famous price insensitivity?

Hasn't Senator Paycheck Q. Petroleum been saying for years that increasing the price of gasoline would not put people in public transit? Sure, our transit systems blow and neither our residential nor our commercial areas are amenable to them (this is in the mythical 'rest of the country' that supposedly lies outside the outer boroughs.) But, our President clearly saw through the claptrap and bravely jacked up the price of gas.
Higher public transit use has resulted. I think this is a vision we can all get behind.