July 29, 2008 Americans make shift in travel habits Play video

(NECN/ABC) - You've undoubtedly noticed the drop in the price of gas at your local gas station.

Congratulations!

Economists say the drop comes because Americans have taken matters into their own hands and are driving less. Ten-Billion miles less in May of this year, than May of last year.

Script: Ever since late last year, American driving habits have been stuck in reverse.

Fed up with the rising cost of gas, Americans have driven 40-billion miles less in the past seven months than they did the year before.

That's caused the demand for motor gasoline to fall by two-point-four percent, according to the US energy department.

"What we're seeing is a fundamental shift in the way Americans are making decisions about their travel habits."

So how are we getting from here to there? Many of us are taking public transportation.

In fact, in the first three months of this year, Americans took 2.6 billion trips on public transit. 88-million more than the year before.

Others are carpooling, telecommuting, or...

"Simply staying at home, they're postponing their travel, they're curtailing their trips, they're reducing their travel and I think that's a very negative thing for the society."

Some experts believe this seismic shift is permanent, that little would change if gas prices were to suddenly plummet.

That's because there are new considerations: even the internet.

"They also want to drive less

because they want to protect the environment. And that's all backed up with all this new technology that gives them the means of doing what they need to do without driving."

Believe it or not, national gas prices actually fell below four dollars a gallon for the first time since early June.

Still, prices are 38-percent higher than this time last year.

ABC News reporter TJ Winick has more on the story.