Northwest environmental think tank Sightline has a cool little graphic up about how people in Oregon and Washington are using less gas than we have in 30 years. That’s a change from recent years.

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It’s interesting to keep in mind amid all the reporting on gas prices climbing—we’re actually doing a solid job of driving less. Of course, the downside of that is less people buying gas means our gas-tax-dependent city transportation budget will be in trouble unless we increase the gas tax in the future or find some better funding method.

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

3 replies on “Oregonians Are Using Less and Less Gas”

  1. The obvious target for increased gas taxes is to charge the hybrid and all electric vehicles more for licensing or some other way so they pay their fair share. Someone has to maintain the road infrastructure.

  2. Is this a sign that we are actually driving less or is the decrease more likely the result of the collective average fuel efficiency of cars increasing over time?

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