VMT
It’s Not the Economy, Stupid: Americans Really Are Driving Less
Since 2005, Americans have been driving fewer miles each year. While the shift predated the onset of the Great Recession, the question of whether the decline in driving marked a sea change in the way we get around or simply reflected a drop in economic activity has been a matter of considerable debate.
November 5, 2012
What Has President Obama Done to Improve American Transportation Policy?
With the election just days away, it’s a good time to reflect on what the Obama administration has done with transportation policy – and what a Romney administration might have in store. Streetsblog does not endorse candidates. This is an overview of their respective records and a look back at what we know of these two men. We’ll start with President Obama in this post and move on to Mitt Romney in the next one.
November 2, 2012
Will Transportation Investments Keep Up With the Way Americans Travel?
Phineas Baxandall is a senior analyst at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
October 22, 2012
Oregon Takes the Next Step in Moving Beyond the Gas Tax
Rep. Earl Blumenauer likes to say that Oregon was the first state to adopt a gas tax and it will be the first state to get rid of it. In 2006-2007, the state conducted a pilot study of alternative revenue collection methods, with an eye toward moving to a better system. This fall, they’ll do another pilot, fine-tuning their process for replacing the gas tax with a vehicle-miles-traveled fee.
August 3, 2012
A New Bill Passes, But America’s Transpo Policy Stays Stuck in 20th Century
The House of Representatives approved the transportation bill conference report this afternoon by a vote of 373 to 52. [UPDATE 4:00 PM: The Senate has also approved the bill, 74-19.] This is a bill that’s been called “a death blow to mass transit” by the Amalgamated Transit Union, “a step backwards for America's transportation system” by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, “a retreat from the goals of sustainability and economic resiliency” by Reconnecting America, “a substantial capitulation” by Transportation for America, and “bad news for biking and walking” by America Bikes.
June 29, 2012
Goodbye, James Dean: Young Men Reject America’s Car Obsession
Phineas Baxandall is a senior analyst at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. This piece was originally posted on Huffington Post.
June 29, 2012
Getting Over the Privacy Hurdle to Mileage-Based Road Fees
Liisa Ecola is a senior project associate at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution.
June 6, 2012
Washington Post: Have We Lost Our Passion for the Automobile?
The data tell us that young people are driving less; that Americans are driving fewer miles -- and it's not just because of the economy. Now the Washington Post asks a more transcendental question: Is the spark gone?
May 22, 2012
Are Americans Driving Less Because They’re Working Less?
Everyone's trying to figure out why, after decades of consistent growth, the amount Americans drive is leveling off and even declining. The decline started during the recession, to be sure, but was more dramatic than in previous recessions. As the economy began to get back on its feet, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) just barely ticked upward -- and then fell again.
May 10, 2012