Vox on congestion pricing plus a driving update for May 2019: Pearl

'Yesterday, I told my readers to "Stay tuned for a driving update."  That's because Pearl the Prius rolled over 46,000 miles yesterday.  I'll run the numbers of how I'm reducing my driving over the jump, but first I'm sharing how London has reduced driving and New York is thinking of following suit in Vox's The traffic solution most cities haven't tried.

Congestion pricing works – just look at London.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced a plan to bring congestion pricing to New York City. The goal is to raise money for the city’s crumbling public transit system and reclaim the dangerously busy city streets. But what is congestion pricing, and can it actually solve all our transit woes? We took a look at London, a city that enacted a congestion charge in 2003, to see some of the benefits.

I wouldn't need congestion pricing to get me to not drive in New York.  The traffic and availability of other alternatives would be enough.  Besides, I'm originally from Los Angeles, where the traffic is terrible and one of the things I don't miss about the place.  It's much easier to drive around Detroit, even though I'm trying to drive less.  For how I'm reducing my driving, follow over the jump.

Pearl the Prius passed 46,000 miles yesterday, Monday, May 6, 2019.  That means it took 60 days since Thursday, March 7, 2019, when its odometer rolled over 45,000 miles, for me to drive my car 1,000 miles.  That translates to 16.67 miles per day, 508.33 miles per standard month, and 6,083.33 miles per year.  On the one hand, that's more than the average of 13.33 miles per day, 406.67 miles per standard month, and 4866.7 miles per year I drove her between December 21, 2018 and March 7, 2019.  On the other hand, it's less than the 18.87 miles per day, 575.5 miles per standard month of 30.5 days, and 6,887.55 miles per year I drove her during the comparable period last year, March 19, 2018 and May 11, 2018.  It's also very close to the 12-month average, as I drove Pearl 6,000 miles during 361 days from May 11, 2018 to May 6, 2019, which translates to 16.62 miles per day, 506.93 miles per standard month, and 6066.48 miles per year.

Considering that my goal was 6,500 miles per year, I'm doing better than I expected, as I am undershooting it by more than 400 miles.  I'm doing that by cutting down on my committee work and trying to be more efficient in running errands.  I hope I can keep that up, or down, as the case may be, during the summer, when I drive to only one worksite and my committee obligations decrease, becoming non-existent in July and August.