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TRANSPORTATION: AUTOMOBILE AND MOTOR VEHICLE: DRIVING :
COUNTRIES: UNITED STATES:
Americans Driving Less as Car Culture Wanes
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Americans Driving Less as Car Culture Wanes
WASHINGTON
August 29, 2013 (AP)
By JOAN LOWY
Associated Press
ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/
stats-show-americans-driving-anymore-20102969
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A shorter URL for the above link:
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http://tinyurl.com/o4mxuk4
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Driving in America has stalled, leading researchers to ask: Is the
national love affair with the automobile over?
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After rising for decades, total vehicle use in the U.S. - the collective
miles people drive - peaked in August 2007. It then dropped sharply during
the Great Recession and has largely plateaued since, even though the
economy is recovering and the population growing. Just this week, the
Federal Highway Administration reported vehicle miles traveled during the
first half of 2013 were down slightly, continuing the trend.
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Even more telling, the average number of miles drivers individually rack
up peaked in July 2004 at just over 900 per month, according to a study by
Transportation Department economists Don Pickrell and David Pace. By July
of last year, that had fallen to 820 miles per month, down about 9
percent. Per capita automobile use is now back at the same levels as in
the late 1990s.
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Until the mid-1990s, driving levels largely tracked economic growth,
according to Pickrell and Pace, who said their conclusions are their own
and not the government's. Since then, the economy has grown more rapidly
than auto use. Gross domestic product declined for a while during the
recession but reversed course in 2009. Auto use has yet to recover.
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Meanwhile, the share of people in their teens, 20s and 30s with driver's
licenses has been dropping significantly, suggesting that getting a
driver's license is no longer the teenage rite of passage it once was.
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Researchers are divided on the reasons behind the trends. One camp says
the changes are almost entirely linked to the economy. In a few years, as
the economy continues to recover, driving will probably bounce back, they
reason. At the same time, they acknowledge there could be long-term
structural changes in the economy that would prevent a return to the
levels of driving growth seen in the past; it's just too soon to know.
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The other camp acknowledges that economic factors are important but says
the decline in driving also reflects fundamental changes in the way
Americans view the automobile. For commuters stuck in traffic, getting
into a car no longer correlates with fun. It's also becoming more of a
headache to own a car in central cities and downright difficult to park.
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"The idea that the car means freedom, I think, is over," said travel
behavior analyst Nancy McGuckin.
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snip
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The decline in driving has important public policy implications. Among the
potential benefits are less pollution, less dependence on foreign oil,
reduced greenhouse gas emissions and fewer fatalities and injuries. But
less driving also means less federal and state gas tax revenues, further
reducing funds already in short supply for both highway and transit
improvements. On the other hand, less driving may also mean less traffic
congestion, although the impact on congestion may vary regionally.
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Phineas Baxandall, senior analyst for the liberal U.S. Public Interest
Research Group, says driving declines mean transportation dollars could be
put to other uses.
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"You just don't want to spend money you don't have for highways you don't
need," he said.
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The complete article may be read at the URL above.
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