Survey Finds Americans Avoiding Automobile Travel Due To Highway Congestion

Industry News / Infrastructure

June 4, 2019

Survey Finds Americans Avoiding Automobile Travel Due To Highway Congestion

Americans avoided an estimated 47.5 million car trips last year because of highway congestion, according to a survey from the U.S. Travel Association (USTA). According to USTA economists, those avoided trips equated to $30 billion in travel spending and 248,000 jobs lost. The online survey was conducted May 3-7 and had 1,031 respondents.

Nearly two-thirds (66.1 percent) of respondents said they would pay an additional $2 to $3 each way to fund transportation projects rather than sit for an additional 1.5 hours to two hours in traffic each way. Six out of them said traffic congestion would be a greater deterrent to car travel than a 25-cent increase in gasoline taxes.

The survey also found that 64.8 percent would support proposals in Congress that would impose higher taxes and fees on drivers if they were used for transportation improvements.

To view the survey, click here.

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