Skip to Content
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Log In
Streetsblog USA

As the Economy Grows and Adds Jobs, Americans Keep Driving Less

Well, there you have it.

Driving is on the decline — even as the economy grows.

You can see in the above chart, created by analyst Doug Short and brought to our attention by Jonathan Maus at BikePortland, America’s shrinking appetite for car travel is outlasting the recession. As the Center for Clean Air Policy pointed out in a 2011 report, the U.S. economy is increasingly “decoupled” from how much Americans drive.

Adjusting for changes in population, the amount of driving on American roads has fallen to 1999 levels. The sustained decline in driving during a period of economic growth is unprecedented in the 41-year period tracked by Short.

Contrast the drop in driving with sunnier employment figures, and it’s clear what’s going on here isn’t due just to job losses and the recession:

Read more...

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog San Francisco

Commentary: Oakland Councilmember Bas Fails to Fix Estuary Channel Path

It's a matter of time before a cyclist or pedestrian is killed crossing Lake Merritt Boulevard or I-880's ramps and frontage roads because the channel path is blocked

July 26, 2024
See all posts