- Drivers travel along Interstate 70 near Odessa, Mo., in January. Last year is on pace to become the most heavily traveled year in history.
- CHARLIE RIEDEL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
An expanding economy and dramatically cheaper gas prices have lured Americans back onto the roads, where they’re racking up record mileage, new data shows.
U.S. vehicle-miles traveled surged 4.3% in November 2015 compared with November 2014, the largest increase since 1999, according to the Transportation Department. That put 2015 on pace to become the most heavily traveled year in history.
In the 12 months leading up to November, drivers covered 3.14 trillion miles, up 3.6% from the same period in 2014, the highest year-over-year increase since 1997, according to the department.
For decades, the number of miles driven reliably increased every year as a growing population and greater access to cars pushed more people on the roads. That changed in 2008, as the recession took hold. Overall vehicle-miles traveled dropped in 2008 and 2009 and struggled to rebound.
But a labor market that added roughly 221,000 jobs a month last year and gas prices that skirted the $2-per-gallon mark have all but ensured that 2015 will set a new high point.
“It’s a two-pronged impact,” said Bill Eisele, senior research engineer at the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University. “The increased economic vitality certainly contributed to move travel along with the gas prices being reduced.”
Throughout 2015, drivers appeared increasingly more willing to get behind the wheel than they were in 2014. That could be because low gas prices have made people more likely to hit the road, Mr. Eisele said.
“If gas prices are low I’m probably not going to suddenly change what I do to get to work today,” he said. “When we talk about our incidental trips, that’s when we see those differences: our family vacations and our holidays.”
The uptick in driving comes at a time when fewer young people are getting driver’s licenses even as the share of older people with a license is rising. While it’s possible those younger people could eventually start driving as they age, it could be that driving may be about to lose its allure among younger generations.
Related reading:
Gas Is So Cheap You Could Drink It (But Don’t)
You May Spend Less on Gas Next Year Than You Have Any Year This Decade
Gas-Price Drop Takes Americans’ Interest in Fuel Economy Down With It
U.S. Consumers Splurged with Gas Savings After All, Study Finds
from Real Time Economics http://ift.tt/1lRHyYY
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