Commuting rising -- car miles falling!!!

Is the car culture slipping?

Public transit hitting records as drivers tap on brakes

In the Bay Area as well as the nation, commuters' eyes are wandering in the direction of transit and other alternatives to the automobile, and for the first time in a generation people are driving a bit less than they used to.

And last week an energy analysis company announced that for the first time in a quarter-century, the number of miles Americans had driven was no longer growing, and had, in fact, dropped slightly.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, in 2005, motorists drove a mere 530 billion miles on California's highways, about 400 million fewer than in 2004. Individually, Americans drove an average of 12,084 miles in 2005 -- 116 fewer than in 2004.

Factors leading to the softening of Americans' love of the single-passenger vehicle are more complex than just disgust with gasoline prices, Pisarski said. There are demographic factors that will continue to alter the transportation landscape even in the unlikely scenario that gasoline prices stay below $2.50 a gallon.

Baby Boomers born in the two decades after World War II are aging, and older people tend to drive less, he explained.

"People over 55, even if they're not retired, their typical day of traveling is less than those in their forties," Pisarski said. Younger folk, in the 25-45 age range, tend to be on the road more, but there are fewer of them than there are Baby Boomers.

While that graying population bubble is being replaced by a growing number of younger immigrants from other countries, the new arrivals are more likely to use transit, bicycles and their own two feet to get to work, he added.

On Caltrain, which runs from Gilroy to San Francisco via San Jose and San Mateo County, average weekday ridership increased 9.5 percent to 36,217 in September, the most recent month for which statistics were available.