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Americans Drove 15 Billion Fewer Miles Than a Year Ago

5.6 percent drop between August 2007 and August 2008

October 27, 2008

The price of gasoline appears to have had an effect on Americans' driving habits in late summer.

New federal data shows that Americans are continuing a 10-month-long decline in driving habits, putting new pressure on the way road, bridge and transit projects are funded at a time of record growth in transit ridership.

In August 2008, Americans drove 15 billion fewer miles, or 5.6 percent less, than they did in August 2007 -- the largest ever year-to-year decline recorded in a single month. Over the past 10 months, Americans have driven 78 billion fewer miles than they did in the same 10 months the previous year.

"We pay for transit the same way we pay for road and bridge projects -- with federal gas taxes," said Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters. "Relying on the gas tax is like relying on cardboard to keep the rain out -- the longer you use it the less it works."

Transit ridership, meanwhile, saw an increase of 6.2 percent this summer compared with last year.

Since 2001, the Transportation Department has spent over $8 billion to finance over 280 miles worth of new transit lines, which, taken together, would be 25 percent longer than the New York City subway system. Peters warned that future projects, however, could be at risk if we continue to rely on gas taxes to fund transit construction.

A plan the Administration unveiled earlier this year to reform federal transportation policy would address that challenge by making it easier for states to attract new sources of funding for transportation projects, said Peters. "With this new approach to funding transportation projects, we can ensure that Big D has Grade-A transit service for years to come," she added.

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