Road not taken takes on new meaning as motorists drive less

(CNN) -- Americans drove 3.6 percent less in July 2008 than they did during July 2007, Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said Tuesday.

That translates into 9.6 billion fewer miles driven, she said.

Since last November, Americans have driven 62.6 billion fewer miles than they did over the same nine months in 2007, according to data collected by the department.

Over the same period, public transit ridership rose 11 percent, and in July, Amtrak carried more passengers than in any single month in its history, Peters said in a news release.

But the decrease in driving threatens financing of public transportation, because transit investments come from federal gas taxes. "Federal transportation policies that rely almost exclusively on gas taxes are failing our state and local governments," she said.