With gas prices hitting $4 this summer, drivers in Maryland and across the country have been driving far less as they choose in growing numbers to take public transit, share rides or simply stay home.
Federal Highway Administration figures for June show a 4.7 percent drop nationally in vehicle miles traveled compared with the same month last year, and a 4.4 percent decline in Maryland. The national decline for the month was the steepest the country has seen since the oil shocks of the 1970s, said a federal highway spokesman, Doug Hecox.
It's unclear whether people will revert to old habits if gasoline prices continue their decline of recent weeks. But there are signs that "change is in the air" as Americans choose to drive less, Hecox said. "They're finding they can get along OK - or reasonably OK - with less [fuel] consumption."
There's more to the decline in driving than cars remaining in the garage. As riders of Maryland's MARC system can attest, public transit use is growing to the point that the infrastructure is showing strain. The bike rack at Penn Station is increasingly well-used. Maryland Transit Administration buses are more crowded than ever, and more of the passengers are wearing suits and ties.
"It's becoming a much more diverse bunch," said Richard Chambers, executive director of One Less Car, a pro-transit advocacy group. Buses are "packed," he said.
In Glen Burnie, signs of change could be seen recently along Ritchie Highway, where auto dealership after auto dealership had small cars and SUVs lined up along the road with their claimed mileage displayed on each windshield.
Meanwhile, traffic fatalities have declined nationwide amid signs that the cutback in driving has been greatest among the drivers most prone to risky behaviors - particularly low-income motorists and teenagers.
The drop in driving in June came as the average price of unleaded gas in Maryland hit the $4 mark and stayed there for the rest of the month - hitting a high of $4.05 on June 24, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Since then, the average price has declined has declined to $3.73 as of yesterday, but few drivers seem to be taking that as a signal to revert to their previous ways.
At the Towson Texaco on York Road, where regular gas cost has dropped from $3.99 a week ago to $3.72, Bonnie Blas of Pikesville was filling less than half the tank of her minivan in the hope that she could find cheaper gas closer to home.
