[kublikhan]

Traffic in the US fell 1.4% in 2007 and 7.5% in 2008(through March). This contrasts with the average of at least 2% growth in traffic for the last 20 years.

Also, SUV sales are down 27%, pickups down 14%. Auto's overall were down 8%.

Public transportation hit an all time high in 2007.

It seems some lifestyle changes for the better are finally starting to happen in the US.
Not Guzzling Quiet So Much

[frankthetank]

Usage is still up, just not climbing as quickly. Whatever happens i'm sure China/India/whoever will pick up the slack. When people have no jobs/money, they won't need to drive at all.

Game over.

[joeltrout]

I am happy to say I am part of the reduction in consumption.

Thankfully our offices moved out of downtown LA which was a 1 hour plus commute on the freeway from my house.

Now our office is 4 miles from my house and only a 15 min commute on surface streets. If I had to I could easily bike to work. I am just too lazy right now.

If possible, I encourage everyone to live close to work.

joeltrout

[MD]

Bottom is still a very long way off.

Pray for a gentle slope.

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'U')sage is still up, just not climbing as quickly.
Game over.

[Tyler_JC]

Does this surprise anyone?

People respond to prices. $3.50 gasoline makes people a bit more inclined to conserve.

Just wait till we see the big 5 at the gas stations.

I expect to see fewer SUVs and a lot more compact cars this summer. They recently built a brand new Smart Car dealership a few miles away.

People aren't going to sit in their driveways and starve to death. They'll ditch the gas guzzler and switch into something a little more economical.

[SILENTTODD]

In the last 2 months I've noticed a significant drop in traffic Saturday afternoons on 91 Freeway out of Orange County California to Riverside, which is one of the most congested highways in Southern California.

For about the last 8 years, traffic on Saturday afternoon was as bad as the Monday thru Friday commuter traffic (I live 2miles from work, I don't do that). Now it's almost like it was about 12 years ago, traffic flowing at highway speeds and noticeably less cars. Friends at work say the drive has been much easier in the last several months.

I believe this is being caused by the sharp down turn in the economy and the equally sharp upturn in the gas prices. Premium gas (Super) in Orange County is already over $4 a gallon with the other grades closing in fast.

[Tanada]

L I had a good laugh on the way home tonight, my local Speedway was slow to catch on when everyone else spiked prices yesterday. Tonight they had the higher price to match the nearsest stations but the pumps were bagged because they ran out of gas!

[GoghGoner]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'G')asoline demand in March increased by 115,000 bpd, or 1.2 percent, to 9.284 million bpd, despite record pump prices.

[Eli]

And we burned a quarter of our corn crop in our gas tanks last year and are planing to burn a third of it next year, we're fucked.

[frankthetank]

Come on... We are doomed. The head story on MSNBC right now is limiting of rice at Costco and Sams Club. Come on doomers... this is the shit we been talking about for years. ITS HERE

I haven't noticed ANY change in traffic patterns here in southwest WI. Maybe more people are driving less miles. The population continues to grow.

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GoghGoner', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'G')asoline demand in March increased by 115,000 bpd, or 1.2 percent, to 9.284 million bpd, despite record pump prices.

[Peepers]

I've certainly noticed some changes in traffic... The trains here in Cleveland are much busier, and we didn't have a very busy rail system to begin with. Even during midday and evening hours, the trains are pretty busy with more passengers, and so are the buses. The station in my neighborhood, at West 117th, had a dozen people waiting on the platform at 9 p.m. tonight when usually there's only 2 or 3 people waiting at that time. It's an upside to the SHTF.

[dohboi]

Every day, I walk or bike over one of the busiest sections of interstate highway in the upper midwest (94 near downtown Minneapolis) and I can't notice any decrease--its always near or at standstill at rush hour, and faster usually at other times.

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joeltrout', 'I') am happy to say I am part of the reduction in consumption.

Thankfully our offices moved out of downtown LA which was a 1 hour plus commute on the freeway from my house.

Now our office is 4 miles from my house and only a 15 min commute on surface streets. If I had to I could easily bike to work. I am just too lazy right now.

If possible, I encourage everyone to live close to work.

joeltrout

[aflurry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MattSavinar', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joeltrout', 'I') am happy to say I am part of the reduction in consumption.

Thankfully our offices moved out of downtown LA which was a 1 hour plus commute on the freeway from my house.

Now our office is 4 miles from my house and only a 15 min commute on surface streets. If I had to I could easily bike to work. I am just too lazy right now.

If possible, I encourage everyone to live close to work.

joeltrout

[jato]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')hey'll ditch the gas guzzler and switch into something a little more economical.

[TheDude]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kublikhan', 'S')o even if the driving usage was exactly the same, we would expect to see at least a 5% increase in gasoline just from the switch from MTBE blend to ethanol blend.

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', 'H')ow complete is the switchover? The EPA's list of states in which there are bans on MTBE (PDF) shows that all states and territories have banned MTBE outright, or limited it, generally to .5%, 'cept the thoroughly toxic inhabitants of the Garden State, who have a year to go. Pain in the ass to find that doc, too, EIA is chock full of pages that were last updated in 2003. Someone at TOD linked to a handy doc on the subject; goes for the low low price of $5K.
Many states aren't banning the use of other oxygenates - wonder what the mix is these days. Ethanol will give us more smog, too. Time has reversed. What's next, disco makes a comeback?

[aahala2]

kublikhan

I take it you work for the US media.

The title for the thread says "US traffic falls 7.5" but that isn't
at all what the article states. It says that traffic declined perhaps
7.5% in a particular county, the percentage of decline in the US
by EIA projection was stated as .3%. And that's gas consumption,
not traffic.