I’ve seen somewhat less traffic but that could be the summer in DC effect. I’ve noticed it more in the evenings. When I’ve been in a traffic jam, it tends to be because of an accident as opposed to just too many cars.
There aren’t that many cars on the road to begin with, but I have heard from others that bus rideship is going up. Buses in our area are free and our employer will reimburse fares for people who do pay coming from farther out, so I think this is becoming a more common choice.
No fewer drivers, but definately more walkers going around in the city. Fewer people blowing by me on the freeway too, most drivers seem to stick around the speed limit now as opposed to 80+.
On the other side, there are more mobile speed bumps (hypermilers) going 40 on the freeways. Its scary caught behind one of those with 18-wheelers passing you at 65 on the left and right!
About the same as ever.
Definately. I think it’s interesting that when gas prices first started going up, the T promoted itself as the alternative. Then more people started using the T, and now the T says that it’s “at capacity” during rush hour, and is asking people to travel at “non-peak” periods.
Riiiight. Like most people have a choice about when they have to get to work or are able to leave work.
*The T is what Bostonians call the MBTA, our public transportation system. Bus, commuter rail or subway, in Boston, it’s all the T.
My commute through Los Angeles has shortened by about 10%, excluding days with accidents.
I haven’t noticed that.
But on the line that I take, ridership has always outstripped the T’s capacity.
Like others, I’ve noticed more scooters. Other than that, though, the number of vehicles seems about the same. Our bus system is pretty crappy, so most people still need to drive to work, the grocery store, etc.
I haven’t noticed any less, but around here we’re 20 minutes from a small town, and 40 minutes from a city.
Less traffic, more scooters and motorcycles, more people taking mass transit, and a lot of brand-new hybrids and small cars and fewer monster SUVs. A lot more people are driving the speed limit, too.
Have you noticed fewer people driving where you are?
I wish. Houston could really stand to get the car count down.
I’ve been on some great bike trails in rural Wisconsin, especially around the Sparta area. Of course, I do realize Wisconsin is a big place.
I have not noticed fewer cars, but I have noticed many, many more bicycles out here in the Twin Cities. Unfortunately, they often do not obey traffic laws. It’s only a matter of time before a big accident.
I’ve noticed a lot of people who thing merging real slow will save gas, while it actually burns more because of all the inertia everybody else has to waste slowing down for them.
It’s hard for me to tell because since I moved from So Cal it never feels like there’s any traffic on the road. On top of that, there is some major freeway construction happening right now, which not only has the effect of pushing people onto surface streets, it has also closed several major north-south roads, which pushes all the traffic to State Street, which already got a crap load of traffic. So ultimately, my time spent sitting in traffic has gone up, even though I know that the public transportation system keeps up a brisk business and there are a ton of cyclists on the roads.
In Plano and Richardson - suburbs north of Dallas - I’ve noticed more bicyclers (including myself 1-3 times a week), a lot more scooters and motorcycles, and fewer SUVs. I haven’t seen fewer cars on the highways, and I haven’t noticed people driving more slowly, which I had when I was in California a couple of weeks ago.
In Northern Virginia, the highways are as densely packed as they ever were.
I took a road trip from Calgary to Red Deer just today, and noticed that almost every other vehicle on the road (tailgating me in my little Corolla, of course) was either an SUV, a mini-van, or a full-sized truck. Apparently Alberta missed the memo. :rolleyes: And yes, the traffic was extremely heavy.
In the last few weeks the traffic has been very good. I don’t know if this has much to do with the price to gas or more the normal decrease in summer and the impact of the layoffs we’ve been having. There isn’t any good public transportation south. North, to San Francisco, BART has gotten a lot more crowded.
Not the number of cars but the improvement in traffic flow might be due to the hands free headset requirement for cell phones that began July 1. I haven’t seen anyone holding a phone up to their ears, and I haven’t seen anyone blocking traffic by driving like a junk while talking.
You’re on the green line, right? Damned college kids can’t walk two blocks grumble grumble.
I’m on the orange line. I’m noticing more than the usual (already unacceptable) number of delays, and I couldn’t tell you the last time I was able to get on the first train that came by when I left work in the evening.
I’m up in the northwestern portion of the state (not too sure where SP2263 is) and while there are some good bike trails in certain areas, they don’t necessarily link you from where you are to where you need to go. They’re great for pleasure riding and awful for transportation because of that. I actually live in a town, and it’s still six miles to the nearest grocery store* from where I live if I take the highway (two lanes, not much of a shoulder) and much, much, much further if I try taking trails.
There are more people using motorcycles for transportation around here, but I still run into friggin’ gigantic trucks every day.
- The town I live in has a teeny little IGA that basically has the selection of a convenience store. It would be impossible to live off of what you can buy there.