{"id":19485,"date":"2013-12-04T16:44:45","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T16:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecowatch.com\/?p=314146"},"modified":"2013-12-04T16:44:45","modified_gmt":"2013-12-04T16:44:45","slug":"americans-in-biggest-cities-driving-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leedpoints.com\/green-building-blog\/americans-in-biggest-cities-driving-less\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans in Biggest Cities Driving Less"},"content":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Even if you saw agitating, bumper-to-bumper traffic during your morning commute, know that the numbers say things are changing.<\/p>\n

The average American drives 7.6 percent fewer miles today than when per-capita driving peaked in 2004, according to a report<\/a> issued today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund (PIRG). The study is a review of data from the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration and Census Bureau on the nation’s 100 most populated, urbanized areas, which are home to more than half of the U.S. population.<\/p>\n

From 2006 to 2011, the average number of miles driven per resident fell in almost three-quarters of the country’s largest city’s, according to the report.<\/p>\n[caption id=\"attachment_314151\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"693\"]\"Graphic<\/a> Graphic credit: U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund[\/caption]\n

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“There is a shift away from driving,” said Phineas Baxandall, Senior Analyst for the U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “The cities in this report are home to most of America’s population and are engines of the economy.<\/div>\n
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“Policy leaders need to wake up and realize the driving boom is over. Instead of expanding new highways, our government leaders should focus on investing in public transit<\/a> and biking<\/a> for the future.”<\/div>\n
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Here are some standout facts from the report:<\/div>\n
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