DOT 157-08
Friday, October 24, 2008
Contact: Brian Turmail
Tel.: (202) 366-4570
New August Data Show Americans Drove 15 Billion Fewer Miles than a Year Ago,
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters Announces
Travel Changes Demonstrate Need for New Way to Fund Transportation
DALLAS – New federal data show Americans are continuing a 10-month-long decline
in driving habits, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced today.
The decline is putting new pressure on the way road, bridge and transit projects
are funded at a time of record growth in transit ridership, showing the need for
a new approach for funding transportation construction, she added
“We pay for transit the same way we pay for road and bridge projects – with
federal gas taxes,” said Secretary Peters, who made the announcement during a
visit to a light rail station under construction in Dallas. “Relying on the gas
tax is like relying on cardboard to keep the rain out – the longer you use it
the less it works.”
In August 2008, Americans drove 15 billion fewer miles, or 5.6 percent less,
than they did in August 2007 – the largest ever year-to-year decline recorded in
a single month, Secretary Peters said. She added that over the past 10 months,
Americans have driven 78 billion fewer miles than they did in the same 10 months
the previous year. Texans alone drove 1.3 million fewer miles, the Secretary
added.
Transit ridership, meanwhile, saw an increase of 6.2 percent this summer
compared to last, said Secretary Peters. In Texas, the DART rail system saw an
increase of 15 percent this summer, one of the largest in its 12-year history,
she noted.
She said that since 2001, the Department has invested over $8 billion to finance
over 280 miles worth of new transit lines, which, taken together, would be 25
percent longer than the New York City subway system. She warned that future
projects, however, could be at risk if we continue to rely on gas taxes to fund
transit construction.
She said a plan to significantly reform federal transportation policy the
Administration unveiled earlier this year would address that challenge by making
it easier for states to attract new sources of funding for transportation
projects. “With this new approach to funding transportation projects, we can
ensure that Big D has Grade-A transit service for years to come.”
To review the FHWA’s “Traffic Volume Trends” reports for August 2008, visit
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/tvtw/tvtpage.htm.
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