U.S. vehicle travel dips below 2005 levels
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefAuto congestion remains a major problem within most U.S. statistical metropolitan areas, and it remains a problem even though average total vehicle travel has fallen below levels reached in 2005.
The Federal Highway Administration’s Traffic Volume Trends for June reports, “Travel on all roads and streets changed by -1.4% (-3.8 billion vehicle miles) for June 2011 as compared with June 2010.”
The declines occurred nationwide, with the South Gulf region down 2.0%, the South Atlantic region down 1.8%, the Northeast down 1.2%, the North Central region down 1.3%, and the West, comprised of 11 large contiguous states plus Alaska and Hawaii, down the least, 1.0%.
The moving 12-month average for 2011, FHWA said, was 2,984,487 million vehicle miles, below the 2005 12-month moving average of 2,986,536 million vehicle miles.
