o-dog

https://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/11/30/...rss_topstories

saw this on my homepage's CNN headlines, thought you all might be interested

trackhub

I saw that this morning. Don't know about this, it seems to me that people are driving more, and there are more cars on the road, than there were back in the 70's, when I first started riding as a young adult.

genec

Tend to agree with you there... I first started cycle commuting to work back in the mid '70s and the roads were of course less crowded due to a lower population overall.

But this CNN report seems to indicate that individually motorists are driving less... albeit the delta is rather small, but as the report states:

slvoid

Yeah, you know why? Cause they're so fat they can't even drive!

fordfasterr

HAHAAAAA

Are you suggesting that Americans are so fat and lazy that they won't even walk to their car anymore?

Jeebus ! What is the world coming to ! ?

Eli_Damon

In other words, the study doesn't count people who don't drive at all. So 18.6 million old people who weren't driving, started driving and this pulled the average down even though it represents an increase in miles-driven-per-year-per-person if you count all people.

cooker

No, the old people drove less this year than last year because they're getting older and retiring or staying home more and not driving as much as they used to, and since they outnumber the teenagers who are coming into driving age, the average came down.

SunFlower

i dont know how much people drove 25 years ago but i live in los angeles and it sure feels like i drive ALOT, lol

Treespeed

It kills me, in Seattle and San Francisco it's hilly and rainy and tons of people ride. Here in Los Angeles it's flat and sunny and I only see a few people riding. And don't get me started about the whiners talking about 60 degrees being cold. I think if it snowed some of these people might actually commit suicide.

Sorry if off topic, but I just can't believe that less people are driving. Sounds like someone flubbed the numbers to make a story.

wheel

Whatever I disagree

Treespeed, It could be worse you could have sunny, flat and everyone ridding on the sidewalk.

donnamb 

I came to the same conclusion after my recent vacation in Santa Monica. The climate and terrain are so nice, but hardly anyone takes advantage of it. My aunt had a 4 mile commute from her house to UCLA. It generally takes 40-45 minutes by car. She thought I was crazy to suggest riding a bike. I don't get it.

JohnBrooking

I suspect that's right. It doesn't say whether they got that figure by dividing total miles by number of drivers or number of people. It also doesn't say anything about the total number of drivers, just their average miles. The total could still be rising, because both the population and the average number of cars per family is still rising (AFAIK).

It would be nice to think that more of the younger people are bicycle commuting, but that may be wishful thinking! Or maybe it's more across the board age-wise, since BF participants seem to be of diverse ages. Some young people I know are pretty progressive, but too many are also just as clueless as anyone else.

It is nice to know that we here are contributing to those statistics, however! My number of miles decreased first in 2004 when we moved closer to my job (about 1/3 the distance), then of course shortly after that I started bike commuting. Then about a year ago, we took the plunge and decreased our vehicles per household by 50%, from 2 to 1!

JohnBrooking

I think people just get used to anything after a while and cease thinking about it.

But still, 40 minutes to go 4 miles by car! I'd bike that in almost any weather! Assuming she doesn't have any health problems, she could easily be getting there in half that time within a few weeks, after she gets in shape! Hang the weather, the time alone would make it worth it.

soze

Welp, here's to a White Christmas, then!

joejack951

4 miles in 45 minutes is literally jogging pace. That's awful. Just goes to show that people who aren't inclined to bike aren't going to bike (regardless of weather, facilities, etc.). Donna, if you do manage to eventually convince her to try riding, it would be interesting to hear what actually persuaded her.

eubi

With the great terrain and weather, we have a lot of long distance commuters here in the LA area.

Unless you are lucky to live and work in the right spots, public transportation options here are dismal and actually more expensive than driving! I'm referring, of course, to the Metrolink.

I do enjoy riding the Metrolink when I can, however. It's typically a full train, too.

I think the high cost of gas this year forced some people into car pools for the first time; they saw how much money you can save and stayed with it. The park and ride I use is always full.

I understand cycling isn't for everyone. It's good that people are seeking out other means of getting to work than using a single-occupant car.

sbhikes

60 IS cold! Brrrrr!

SingingSabre 

Room service?

Donna, a 4 mile ride at a slow pace is like what...30 minutes? She could arrive relaxed, refreshed, and hardly sweaty and still beat her driving time. Silly!

genec

I fully agree, and it drives me crazy that the areas of the US with the best weather tend to be rules by motorists.

BTW it did not say "less people are driving," it said people are driving less... they only show about a 100 mile difference... but it was technically less.

Feldman

I grew up in LA and rode thousands of miles there from ages 13 to 22, when I "emigrated." It's a very underrated cycling city--wide roads, generally gentle grades in the hills, and there is an effective street grid for most of the urban areas. I guess not enough celebs have had their pictures taken on bikes for it to catch on yet!

wahoonc

Well lets see, based on my projections I reduced my average yearly driving in '06 by about 10,000 miles so divide that by 50 and you will get the 199 people that drove exactly the same number of miles they did in the previous year (ain't numbers FUN! ) I think there has been a reduction in longer trips and some day to day stuff but until I see numbers reflecting a reduction in the number of vehicles being driven as well as annual miles I ain't gonna plan any big celebrations..

Aaron

Roody

Probably four factors combine to create this slowdown in gasoline consumption: demographics, higher prices, more efficient vehicles, and regulations. The important news is that all of the projections are based on annually increasing demand for gasoline, so any decrease is good news, and quite unexpected by most policy makers and market analysts.
Here's a link to the more detailed press release from Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), the original authors of the study quoted by CNN.

Let's hope gas prices keep going up! They are now 3.8 % of the average family budget, compared to the stable 3.5 % over the last 40 years. Evidently, even small cost increases can have an impact.

Roody

You're right. IIRC, there are nearly twice as many cars on the road now, compared to the 1970s. However, that figure has nothing to do with this study, which says that people on average drove slightly less than they did last year. Your personal observations are pretty meaningless. This is an analysis of aggregate data for the millions of American drivers. Per person and per car, we did drive a little less last year. It's way too soon to call it a new trend, but let's hope this continues.

tomcryar

It is........! It was down in the 40's 2 weeks ago, and I thought I'd have to move further south. I've been riding for a long time and I see more cars (trucks, suvs, whatever) on the road in the last 3 or 4 years than I've ever seen any year. You can take the numbers from "statistics" and present them any way you want to--the fact is that are more cars than ever. But there are also alot more cyclists.

mike

Well, it is interesting to know that people are driving less now than before. It does seem a little hard to believe just because of the lifestyles of today. The soccer mom phenominon is still alive and well, isn't it? Back in the 70's, kids had to find our own way to baseball practice and other stuff. Our mothers just didn't drive us all over the place.

I do know that now, people are a lot more sensitive to the cost of travel. When people go any distance like to a conference across state or so, they tend to car-pool which they would not have done ten years ago.

Whatever the cause might be, it sure isn't because people are riding bicycles now more than ever. That is not the case. More people rode bicycles in the 1970's that today. That is for sure. Despite today's greater population in the USA, you saw a lot more number of bicyclers in the 1970's and early '80's than you do today.