Americans have cut back driving by over 30 billion miles, reports the Federal Highway Administration. From November 2007-April 2008, FHWA’s latest data show total miles traveled declined 1%, or around 30 billion miles, from the same time in 2006-2007. Such a drop is the biggest since 1979, when the Iranian revolution spurred a U.S. gas shortage.
Put another way, drivers are moving about at the same rate as in 2005, when 8 million fewer people lived in the U.S.
"[Previously], people might change their pattern for a short period of time,” says Mary Peters, secretary of transportation, “but it almost always bounced back very quickly. We're not seeing that now."
And we wouldn’t expect it anytime soon. The average gas price from November-April was around $3.30 a gallon.
Put another way, drivers are moving about at the same rate as in 2005, when 8 million fewer people lived in the U.S.
"[Previously], people might change their pattern for a short period of time,” says Mary Peters, secretary of transportation, “but it almost always bounced back very quickly. We're not seeing that now."
And we wouldn’t expect it anytime soon. The average gas price from November-April was around $3.30 a gallon.
Even those not old enough to drive are about to get hurt by high gas prices.
Around 475,000 diesel-running school buses transport 25 million children to school every day in the U.S., says The Wall Street Journal today. According to the American School Bus Council, those half million buses drive around 4.3 billion miles a year.
At today’s prices, schools are set to spend $2 billion on fueling busses this year… a $600 million increase from 2007.
Meanwhile, the market for Chinese SUVs is thriving. Sales of SUVs were up 40% in the first four months of this year, double the growth rate of the Chinese market for normal cars.
There’s even an odd “gray market” for Hummers sprouting… while GM officially has no Hummer dealers in China, the FT reports 15 dealerships in Beijing alone are selling the things. Some manufacturers are quickly designing spinoffs, like Dongfeng Auto’s cleverly named HanMa.
"As a boy, I always dreamt of owning a big car," a Hummer-driving Chinese real estate executive told the FT. "There are plenty of other sources of pollution than cars, and life is short, so we should enjoy ourselves, anyway."
Around 475,000 diesel-running school buses transport 25 million children to school every day in the U.S., says The Wall Street Journal today. According to the American School Bus Council, those half million buses drive around 4.3 billion miles a year.
At today’s prices, schools are set to spend $2 billion on fueling busses this year… a $600 million increase from 2007.
Meanwhile, the market for Chinese SUVs is thriving. Sales of SUVs were up 40% in the first four months of this year, double the growth rate of the Chinese market for normal cars.
There’s even an odd “gray market” for Hummers sprouting… while GM officially has no Hummer dealers in China, the FT reports 15 dealerships in Beijing alone are selling the things. Some manufacturers are quickly designing spinoffs, like Dongfeng Auto’s cleverly named HanMa.
"As a boy, I always dreamt of owning a big car," a Hummer-driving Chinese real estate executive told the FT. "There are plenty of other sources of pollution than cars, and life is short, so we should enjoy ourselves, anyway."
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