An occasional update on items from Motordom – the world of auto dominance
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ANNUAL COST OF A CAR IN THE U.S.
It’s over $9,000:
The average owner of a sedan has to shell out nearly $10,000 a year to own and operate that car, according to auto club AAA.
A new AAA reports shows, on average, the cost of driving 15,000 miles a year rose 1.17 cents to 60.8 cents per mile, or $9,122 per year. Overall, that’s a roughly 2% increase on the cost of operating a car last year. …
The average age of the vehicle on the road now is 11.1 years. It’s not just for financial reasons that people are keeping cars long. The quality of the cars is also improving.
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ROADS WERE NOT BUILT FOR CARS
Here’s a Kickstarter proposal by Carlton Reid for a book to set the record straight:
Cyclists were written out of highway history in the 1920s and 1930s by the all-powerful motor lobby: Roads Were Not Built For Cars tells the real story, putting cyclists centre stage again.
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MORE EVIDENCE OF PEAK CAR
Arlington is Booming, And Traffic Fantastically Remains at 1970s Levels
Arlington’s population and employment have jumped nearly 40 percent over the past three decades. Meanwhile, traffic on major arterials like Wilson and Arlington Boulevards has increased at a much lower rate or even declined. …
Nevertheless, according to our latest research, most executives and business managers based in Arlington County think it’s a fantastical notion that the county will meet its goal of capping rush-hour traffic at 2005 levels over the next two decades.
Of course, first these leaders had to learn that Arlington even has this target. Only 11 percent surveyed knew that the county actually intends to keep rush-hour trips and rush-hour vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) at or below 5 percent growth of their respective 2005 levels by 2030 (PDF; 1 MB). This goal is in place even though Arlington County planners expect that the population will rise by 19 percent and jobs will increase by 42 percent over that same period. …
It may be worth reminding them that other jurisdictions have more aggressive targets. San José, California, for one, wants to reduce the VMT within its borders by 40 percent from its 2009 level by 2040.
Luckily, Arlington’s business community seems to be on board. Seventy-nine percent think that improving the transit system is important. And Arlington’s track record of success and the attitudes found in our survey of business leaders indicate that meeting the county’s traffic goal is realistic after all.
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PARKING A CAR CAN COST MORE THAN THE CAR
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