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U.S. motorists cutting back a bit
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Jan 25, 2007 02:07am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Los Angeles Times |
| News Date | Thursday, January 25, 2007 08:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Americans cut miles driven for the first time since 1980. High prices are behind the change in transportation habits.
By Elizabeth Douglass, Times Staff Writer
January 25, 2007
Two years of record-high gasoline prices have forced auto-crazed Americans to do something they haven't done in more than two decades: Drive less.
Auto designer Jack Chen is one of them. Pricey gas made living in Pasadena and working in Ontario a $400-a-month grind.
"I started to reexamine my life overall," said Chen, 35, who loves muscle cars and drives a Saab 9-2x sports wagon. "I summed up how much I spent on gas and I started having this idea of moving inland." So last summer, he settled into a Corona apartment and cut his commute to seven miles.
The financial relief was immediate. Before "I had to watch my balance to make sure checks didn't bounce," Chen said. "I don't have to worry about that these days."
Few have made such drastic lifestyle changes. But to the surprise of many economists, U.S. motorists changed their ways enough to cut the nation's per-driver mileage by 0.4% in 2005, ending a string of increases dating back to 1980, government data show. |
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