2 Different Ways to Cut Driving by 1/5

To cut down on some of the negative impacts of driving – greenhouse gas production, localized air pollution, congestion – people would need to drive a lot less. Bringing the average number of vehicle miles traveled, or VMT, per person down is widely seen as a practical step toward the goal of reducing the negative environmental and economic impacts of automobiles. New research suggests that average VMT could be cut by up to 20 percent with one of two relatively simple options.

The first option is to raise the price of gas. In a paper recently published in the B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, researchers out of San Francisco State University find that raising the cost of driving one mile by 10 percent can result in an 18 percent decrease in annual VMT per household. That's like taking the bus to work every Wednesday instead of driving.