30 billion fewer miles driven, and counting

[marmar]

....and remember, come talk transit, smart growth and a sustainable future with us at DU's public transportation and smart growth forum, where this is cross-posted: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=398



via The Seattle Times:



30 billion fewer miles driven, and counting
According to AAA, the average two-car family now would spend about $6,200 a year to gas up its vehicles.

By Tony Pugh

McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — Our days as an automobile nation are far from over. But the specter of high gasoline prices becoming permanent has forced the United States to reassess its "Yeah, right" attitude toward public transportation and to reconsider how Americans get from point A to point B.

In the 1970s, when gas-station lines snaked around the corner and gas guzzlers ruled Detroit, Asian automakers flooded the nation with fuel-efficient models. Today, after Detroit's long romance with gas-quaffing SUVs, U.S. automakers again are playing catch-up to hot-selling Japanese hybrids.

Casual observers see history repeating itself. But transportation experts said the current gasoline crisis, driven by price, is far different from those of the '70s, which were crises of availability.

They predict a more lasting impact on what we drive, how we drive and investment in mass transit.

According to AAA, the average two-car family now would spend about $6,200 a year to gas up its vehicles.

"That's unsustainable. At some point, the math begins to not work," said Stephen Reich, director of the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida.

The national average price of regular unleaded hit $4.101 on Friday, and in the Seattle area, it was $4.375, according to AAA.

Evidence is mounting of a wholesale change in the way Americans commute. Motorists have driven roughly 30 billion fewer miles in the past six months compared with the same period a year ago, according to federal government estimates. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008034444_gasprices05.html

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. If this keeps up, Big Oil will face a massive financial downturn

Those poor companies will only be raking in hundreds of millions rather than the billions to which they've become accustom. That won't be good for the American economy, let me tell you. :eyes:

[DS1]

2. I last filled up June 6th, and still have half a tank

:woohoo:

[slampoet]

3. In 2000 i was driving to worcester or boston or providence 4 times a week.

and i lived in New Hampshire.


Now even though i live in Providence and am much closer to all those places, I only go to Worcester 3 times a year and Boston only once a month and i went to New Hampshire Once in three years and EVERYTIME it is for business only.

I have been this way ever since gas hit $2.50 a gallon.

[JMackT]

4. This will be a growing trend

With no end in sight

[Neshanic]

5. There is a discernable difference in traffic here. A lot less.

[Leopolds Ghost]

6. There will be no investment in transit. DLC "liberal" think tanks/big city planners oppose it.

They view light rail as an urban renewal scheme, not a method for moving large numbers of people.

They oppose all other forms of transit (especially subways) as a "waste of money" and "not justified by the population density of any areas outside of Manhattan." "This is not Europe", they inanely assert.

That's why they ("liberal Dems") voted to kill rapid transit,
ban extensions of existing systems, and build more highways in:

* Seattle voted to halt construction on an existing rapid transit network
* LA voted to illegalize subway construction
* SF built a new Bay Bridge with no provision for transit, no money for HSR
* Suburban MD voted for an 8-lane highway and light rail instead of Metro
* Suburban NJ voted to kill a light rail plan and build more highways
* South Florida voted to rescind a constitutional HSR amendment

and more.

[margotb822]

7. Doesn't make a bit of difference if

our government is still at war. The military consumes huge amounts of oil and is completely dependent on it.

I personally have started to biking to work most days, and I know many other people have cut back by carpooling, running errands all on one day, etc. But all of our effort is in vain if our government is still a consumption monster.