On the Road with Elasticity

In the article, you can find estimates of both the short-run and long-run elasticities of gasoline demand. To find the latter, you have to read carefully and apply some of the tools you have just lamed.

The Perks of Pump Avoidance

Higher gasoline prices are dealing out the wallets motorists but there may be a silver lining: Traffic is somewhat lighter on the heavily congested freeways and surface streets of Sou them California.

It only makes sense that the sharply higher price at the pump are leading some people to avoid discretionary trips with their cars carpooling when possible and shifting to public transportation.

Although there are no hard data yet a broad range of experts say there is evidence that people are buying less gasoline and finding ways to avoid using their cars contributing to less congestion on the toads.

We have noticed that volumes are lighter than normal said Frank Quoin deputy director of cultural freeway operations for Les Angles county. We haven’t done a study. But we aren’t experiencing as much congestion and travel times are shorter..

Meanwhile Sou-land public trans portation agencies are reporting that ridership has jumped in the first months of 2005 up between 3% and 12% depending on the system.

Anecdotally a lot of people I talk to say they are seeing the effect every day which has cut their commute times dramatically. Normally jammed freeways are mysteriously wide open.

If people are indeed cutting back on driving avoiding discretionary trips carpooling and using public transportation it should mean that gasoline sales volumes are dropping.

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