Psst. Come a bit closer. There's something happening out there that transit opponents don't want you to hear about.

Amid all the quarterly reports circulating this time of year on various issues, an interesting trend is emerging. Across the nation — from New York to Dallas to Seattle and beyond — higher gas prices have pushed rail transit ridership to record levels.

And while some in Honolulu prefer to spin their wheels on the transit issue, packed rail systems across the country are prompting city officials elsewhere to add more routes, additional transit cars and more, just to meet the growing demand, which is expected to increase as gas prices climb even higher.

Does anyone expect gas prices to drop anytime soon?

Didn't think so. So the sooner Honolulu gets moving on transit the better.

Consider these facts:

• In Washington state, transit ridership is "just exploding" according to Seattle Mayor and Sound Transit Board Chairman Greg Nickels. Their rail system this quarter boasted a 28 percent ridership increase from last year. It shows "the growing popularity of going green and choosing rail," says Nickels. Seattle will add routes this fall.

• In Sacramento, monthly ridership on its light rail hit 1.5 million, up 43.3 percent from last year.

Sacramento Regional Transit District General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Mike Wiley says: "RT riders are putting their money in their pockets, not the gas pump."

Now, that would be a nice perk for O'ahu residents.

• In Portland, the TriMet Transit agency said Monday its mass ridership volume has broken records, hitting the 2 million mark. Weekly average MAX rail transit ridership jumped 4.8 percent over the same period last year.

• In New York and New Jersey — larger cities that already have strong commuter bases — rail ridership hit new levels this quarter. New York's system posted a 6.8 percent increase; New Jersey's train ridership grew 5 percent, according to its Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

• And in Charlotte, (a system Honolulu City Council members point to as an example of gross cost overruns) the City Council there approved the purchase of four more light rail vehicles. The Charlotte Area Transit System reported a 34 percent increase in riders in February compared with the same period last year.

• In Dallas, the DART light rail system has seen a 9 percent increase in ridership.

• And the San Francisco Bay Area's BART system posted ridership increases of 5 percent this quarter. They're looking at ways to handle demand. "The future of mass transit in this country has never been brighter," Dorothy W. Dugger, BART's general manager told The New York Times.

• Even in Los Angeles — a city where people are known for having love affairs with their cars — rail ridership is setting records. Rail ridership is up 16 percent on the Red Line, 13 percent on the Blue Line and 17 percent on the Gold Line.

Of course, even with all these indicators, some will argue that Mainland ridership stats don't necessarily show how folks here will react to transit. That's true, there's no sure-fire way to tell.

But here at home, transit indicators are strong, too. Bus ridership is solid, and rising. Ridership is up 3 to 5 percent on buses that are already packed tight, says Wayne Yoshioka, director of the city's Department of Transportation Services.

And Honolulu now has the fourth-highest bus ridership per capita in the nation, Yoshioka says. Adding more buses onto an already packed highway won't cut it.

Says Yoshioka: "Rail transit will really increase mobility, people won't be trapped in congestion, and it's reliable and does not have to mix with the traffic." That, Yoshioka says, will free up more buses to connect with neighborhoods.

In addition to higher gas prices, the push to go green is also driving ridership increases. And with HECO increasingly turning to renewable energy sources to fuel its grid, the reduction in greenhouse gases won't be the only benefit rail transit would have on our environment.

So the next time you get a pitch to block rail transit in Honolulu, take a look at the bigger picture. Because indicators out there say O'ahu is indeed on the right track in providing commuters with a viable alternative to their cars.