Commuters ditch keys for transit
SAN FRANCISCO — Gasoline prices may be falling fast from record highs, but travelers are still avoiding the highways and jumping on buses and trains at a record pace, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In fact, Americans drove 15 billion fewer miles in August than they did in the same month a year ago, according to federal data.
That represents a 5.6 percent decline from August 2007, marking the biggest year-over-year decline ever recorded, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters said in a statement.
At the same time, public transit ridership jumped 6.2 percent across the country this summer compared with a year ago.
Peters pointed out that Texas, where she spoke during a visit to a light-rail station under construction in Dallas, saw an increase of 15 percent in its DART rail system.
All this with gas currently costing a national average $2 http://payday-z.com.78 for a gallon of regular unleaded, according to recent numbers from AAA. That’s down almost a dollar from a month ago and is more or less the same as it cost in October 2007.
The surprising trend, likely exacerbated by the dismal state of the economy, is making it difficult for the government to pick up the tab. Peters warned that the lower income from gas taxes will make it difficult for the federal agency to continue to fund future projects.
"We pay for transit the same way we pay for road and bridge projects — with federal gas taxes," she said. "Relying on the gas tax is like relying on cardboard to keep the rain out — the longer you use it the less it works."