Easing Up on the Pedal

While awaiting Detroit's new fuel-efficient cars, American drivers are already hitting the brakes on gasoline consumption. Gas sales have declined nationwide so far this year, by more than 12% in some states, and the use of car pools and public transportation is up almost everywhere. In Michigan, state police were rationed a single tankful per week for chasing speeders, until the legislature gave them emergency funds last week to buy more gas. In rural Iowa, where energy experts once insisted that gasoline was as vital as corn, gas consumption fell 12.3% in the first quarter.

The reason is clear: consumers increasingly battered by the recession are simply changing their driving and commuting habits and switching to gas-frugal imports. Appeals to patriotism or anti-OPEC tirades were not as effective in forcing conservation as the rise in gas prices. Says Thomas Halloran, a student at Boston College: "I'm driving less, but it's not due to an effort to conserve gas. I'm basically influenced by price."

Gas at the pump is already about 55% higher than last spring--$1.20 for a gallon of regular, vs. 77-c- last year --and sure to go up again soon. Prices now range from $1.14 in San Antonio to $1.27 in Chicago. Deputy Energy Secretary John Sawhill said last week that gasoline prices would soon increase up to 8-c- per gal., owing to decontrol of domestic crude oil prices and further OPEC rises. In a recent Gallup poll, 87% of those surveyed said that higher prices had pushed them to reform their driving habits. Even in autoerotic Los Angeles, the number of car pool applications received by the state transportation department has quadrupled. Drivers along the Santa Monica Freeway now seem to believe the flashing signs warning SAVE GAS: NOW OR NEVER. In nearby Orange County, a showcase of suburbia, bus ridership is up 52%.

As summer approaches, gas prices are changing vacation habits. The American Automobile Association says requests for travel planning are off 12.9% this year. "Gas prices make driving to Florida impossible," says Paul Polsky, a pharmacist in Troy, Mich. "We'll spend vacation in the state."

The slump in gasoline consumption has meant a boom for public transportation. Intercity bus ridership was up 10% in the first quarter of the year, a sharp reversal for an industry that has gone mostly downhill since World War II. Amtrak's business from October through March was up 11% on longdistance train routes and 17% on shorter runs. Biggest gainers are trips out of Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and New York, which were traditionally the domain of auto travel. Riding on the rails between Los Angeles and San Diego is up a sharp 35%. For more and more drivers the slogan "See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet" is becoming as antique as penny postcards, high button shoes and buggy whips.

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