30 billion fewer miles driven, and counting

[marmar]

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

[nxylas]

1. I saw this on GD

Together with a plug for this forum. I liked the idea, so I have adapted it slightly and used it in my sig line. Now every post I make will plug this group.

[marmar]

2. Good idea for the sig line.....

:thumbsup: