Americans drove 263.1 billion miles in April 2022, according to data released last week by the Federal Highway Administration. This was a 5.7 percent decrease from the 279.1 billion they drove in April 2019.
See the June 8 post for discussion and sources of data for air travel, Amtrak, and transit.
I confess to being surprised that driving fell so far short of pre-pandemic levels, as driving had been more than 100 percent of March 2019-February 2020 numbers in all but one month since June 2021. The numbers released last week are considered preliminary, but the revisions made by the Federal Highway Administration are usually small.
Chart from Gasbuddy.com.
The decline in driving is likely due to high fuel prices related to the war in Ukraine. As shown in the above chart, prices rose in March, stayed flat in April, then rose again in May and again in June. So the question isn’t why was there a decline in driving in April but why wasn’t there one in March. The answer may be that it took a few weeks for people to respond to the higher prices.
Urban transit ridership also fell while air and Amtrak travel grew (when measured against pre-pandemic levels). This suggests that urban travel fell while intercity travel grew. But the recently released driving data indicate that travel on all roads, both urban and rural, declined relative to April 2019.
Travel declined in 40 states, with the largest being in New York (-21.3%), North Dakota (-20.1%), Hawaii (-19.9%), New Jersey (-19.6%), Michigan (-19.3%), Colorado (-19.1%), Delaware (-18.4%), New Mexico (-17.1%), Vermont (-16.4%), and California (-13.5%). The biggest increases were in Montana (15.1%), Louisiana (13.6%), South Dakota (14.9%), and Idaho (6.8%). Driving also grew by 5.4 percent in the District of Columbia.
Most of the states that saw the biggest declines either suffered a large exodus of people or have a large share of employees working at home. At least some of the states that saw increased driving are those whose populations grew due to people leaving other states. While post-COVID changes explain some of the reasons for increased or decreased travel, they don’t explain why nationwide driving was so much lower. Perhaps next month’s data release will help answer that question.
“The decline in driving is likely due to high fuel prices related to the war in Ukraine.”
And our government, which is trying to reduce gasoline use, responded …
“Some States Suspend Their Gas Taxes, Looking to Ease Pain at the Pump
Actions by Maryland, Georgia and Connecticut could be followed by other states soon.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/27/us/gas-tax-cuts.html
It’s a good thing that our legislators have mouths with two sides.
This reminds me of a small child saying both, “I’m too tired!” and “I don’t want to go to bed!”
Joe Biden is blasting oil companies to unleashes gas and supplies….
Also Joe biden: “No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling, including offshore. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill. Period.”
Leisurely driving fell.