Des Moines Register
02/05/06
Drivers travel fewer miles in Iowa in 2005
Gas prices contributed to the first drop in Iowa since 1985.
By WILLIAM PETROSKI
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Copyright 2006, Des Moines Register and Tribune Company
Motorists drove fewer miles in Iowa last year, halting two decades of steady
traffic growth.
Vehicles on Iowa's roads in 2005 logged about 31.7 billion miles of travel, down
222 million miles from a year earlier, according to the Iowa Department of
Transportation. It was the first time since 1985 that Iowa has recorded a decline
in the number of miles traveled, and it was a contrast to substantial increases of
many previous years.
The most important factor in Iowa's reduction in vehicle travel was the reaction by
consumers to a persistent rise in gasoline prices, said David Swenson, an
economic scientist at Iowa State University. Both businesses and households
responded by reducing trips and consolidating activities, especially when
gasoline prices spiked after Hurricane Katrina disrupted the Gulf Coast's oil
industry last fall, he said.
Long-term demographic shifts were a secondary factor in the mileage reduction,
reflecting a population shift from rural Iowa toward cities and suburbs, Swenson
said. "There is a very, very slow, but predictable and progressive shift in highway
demand and usage towards our metropolitan centers and employment centers,"
he said.
Dan Love, a carpenter from Earlham, is among those who have trimmed their
mileage, combining his trips to Des Moines to pick up supplies in his 1986 Ford
F-150 pickup. He said he is trying to spend less money on fuel.
"I'm in business for myself, and you have to get a little smarter," he said.
Chris Pike of Altoona, who is married and has two children, said her driving
habits haven't changed. "I have to get back and forth to work" in Des Moines,
said Pike, who spent $44.32 one day recently to fill her Ford Explorer sport utility
vehicle.
Since the mid-1930s, Iowa has recorded a drop in vehicle miles traveled in only
nine years. Most of those years were associated with World War II when gasoline
was rationed, the Arab oil embargoes of the 1970s and the farm crisis of the
1980s. The cost for regular gasoline in Iowa last year averaged $2.18 per gallon,
up from $1.77 per gallon in 2004, according to the Iowa Department of Natural
Resources.
Gail Weinholzer, a spokeswoman for the AAA Minnesota-Iowa motor club, said
her organization saw signs that higher gasoline prices affected driving habits last
year in its national surveys of motorists prior to major holidays. While holiday
travel on the roads increased nationwide, it rose by much lower percentages than
past years, she said.
Motorists this summer may again have to pay $3 per gallon for gasoline, and
some forecasts indicate the price could hit $3.40 per gallon, said Tami Foster, a
DNR energy analyst.
A state transportation report shows a drop in mileage last year occurred on city
streets and on rural county roads. Mileage was unchanged on Iowa's rural
interstate highways, and it was up on urban interstate highways. The counts
were based on data from continuous automated traffic counters embedded at
127 sites throughout Iowa's road system.
Nationwide, travel for 2005 was virtually unchanged through October - the latest
month available — compared to a year earlier, according to the Federal Highway
Administration.
Iowa's motor vehicle fuel tax income totaled $224.3 million between July and
December, up less than 2 percent compared to a year ago. Consumption of
diesel fuel, which is taxed at a higher rate than gasoline, has been rising more
sharply than gasoline usage, which is one reason why state fuel tax income rose,
state officials said.
Motorists in 2005 bought 1.63 billion gallons of regular and ethanol-blended
gasoline, down about 6.3 million gallons from 2004. There were 648 million
gallons of diesel fuel sold in 2005, up 45 million gallons from 2005.
Iowa's trucking industry, which heavily relies on diesel fuel, is still running at full
throttle, according to industry officials. About three-fourths of Iowa communities
have no railroad service, so trucking is the only method for freight to arrive.
"Our members are absolutely swamped right now. There has rarely been the
demand for the ability to move freight that we have today, so our guys are very,
very busy,'" said Scott Weiser, president of the Iowa Motor Truck Association, a
trucking industry group.
The minimal growth in fuel tax income worries Iowa Department of
Transportation officials, who rely upon fuel taxes as a key source of revenue to
finance road construction.
The Department of Transportation has experienced a financial shortfall of about
$32 million since approving a five-year highway construction program last
November that totals about $2 billion, said DOT Director Nancy Richardson.
Federal highway money is less than expected and road construction costs are
above projections, she said.
Although fuel tax income is close to its conservative budget forecast for this year,
it is growing at a much slower rate than some past years of traffic growth when
increases of 5 percent to 7 percent in road use tax collections were common,
said Richardson.
The DOT won't scale back this summer's reconstruction work on Interstate
Highway 235 through the Des Moines area, or construction of four-lane highway
projects on priority corridors, Richardson said. If adjustments are needed, the
DOT will likely slow or delay repairs on existing roads or bridges, she said.
Iowa tourism officials said that interest in state tourist attractions remains high
and that they are marketing to Iowans who are taking shorter trips. Requests for
information about Iowa tourist attractions were up 12 percent between July and
December 2005 compared with the same period in 2004, said Iowa Tourism
Manager Nancy Landess.
Living History Farms in Urbandale drew 142,000 visitors in 2005, up 4 percent
from 2004. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum in West Branch
drew 55,000 guests last year, down 11 percent, due to a host of factors, said
Director Timothy Walch.
These factors included a reduction in school bus tours, partly because of rising
fuel costs; a trend toward declining admissions at rural museums and
presidential libraries; and competition from other attractions, he said.
More people are riding buses operated by the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit
Authority, which is averaging about 15,500 passengers daily, up nearly 9 percent
since last July 1, said General Manager Stephen Spade.
Many people switched from personal vehicles to buses as a less expensive
commuting option when gasoline prices hit $3 last year "and now some of them
are sticking with us," he said.