Lower-income Americans cut driving as gas prices top $4.50
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 6
Lower-income Americans cut driving as gas prices top $4.50
8 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 6
A New York Fed analysis released Wednesday said the national average petrol price has risen above $4.50 a gallon after more than two months of war in the Middle East.
It found lower-income households spent more on fuel but bought less of it, suggesting reduced driving, carpooling or shifts to public transport where available.
Higher-income Americans also spent more on petrol in March, but inflation-adjusted volumes were essentially unchanged, reinforcing a wider K-shaped divide in the US economy.
A Middle East conflict is costing US drivers billions. How vulnerable is the American economy to future global energy shocks?
As the economic divide widens, can symbolic policies truly solve America's deep-rooted transportation inequality?
Have infrastructure policies left lower-income Americans with no affordable option but to cut back on essential travel?