Motordom on the downward slide
To offset the bummer below: From State Smart Transportation Initiative –
Per capita vehicle-miles traveled in the United States dropped by 0.4 percent in 2012, according to the FHWA’s travel trends data released Friday.
Per capita VMT peaked in 2004 and has declined each year since then for a total decline of 7.5 percent (Figure 1). At 9,363, VMT per capita in 2012 reached its lowest level since 1996.
A variety of factors have been cited for the decline, including retiring Baby Boomers; less enthusiasm for cars among Millennials; a move in many places toward more compact and mixed-use development; and demand-side policy efforts, including TDM, tolling and market-pricing of parking. In addition, some trends that fueled VMT growth in the last century have eased: The transition toward women working outside the home is essentially complete, car-ownership has gone from rare to common, and people’s time budgets for car travel may have reached their maximum.
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Are there similar stats for Canada?
Gord – as you note, those are per capita figures, which is very hopeful news indeed. However, I have a hunch that TOTAL miles travelled annually by US motorists is continuing to grow. (Also those in other countries, such as India and China, likely Canada too.) Which, of course, contributes mightily to GHE and other kinds of pollution.
Know any way to verify this?
@ Frank: If you click on the link in the story, it will take you to the original SSTI post, which shows that total VMT in the US leveled off and has been bouncing up and down slightly since 2004. “total VMT has declined three years and increased five, for a net decrease of 0.9 percent.”
The fact that total VMT peaked well before the recession and hasn’t rebounded with the economy should indicate that we are unlikely to see much of an increase in the foreseeable future.