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Or...the less partisan and probably answer: The economy has just gotten better and people can afford to drive more.

• ojbyrne 11y ago
  Or, more specifically, the cost of gasoline has gone down.
• alistairSH 11y ago
  Better economy, cheaper gasoline, but most importantly... numbers that weren't adjusted for population growth.
  • nostrademons 11y ago
    The second chart is population-adjusted and still shows a sharp uptick, it's just not an all-time high.
• brudgers 11y ago
  My answer is factual. There was stimulus spending on transportation projects. Those projects have been coming online in recent years. It's only under premises such as that more driving is a good thing or that the stimulus actually worked that my statement would be partisan. I did not imply such.