US Driving Continues to Brake

Driving in the United States continued to drop, the Washington Post reports, with May marking the steepest dip in vehicle-miles traveled for that month in the 66 years statistics have been tallied. Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than May ’07; in the first five months of 2008, they drove 29.8 billion fewer miles than the same period in 2007.

Public-transportation use is increasing, workers are turning to telecommuting, bicycle-riding is up, and gas-tax revenues are so low the government is exploring other ways to raise revenue to maintain highways. “By driving less and using more fuel-efficient vehicles, Americans are showing us that the highways of tomorrow cannot be supported solely by the federal gas tax,” the Transportation Secretary said.