More Families Ditch the 2nd Car

As more US families give up second vehicles in favor of public transportation, “it’s very likely the fleet will shrink next year,” an industry analyst tells Bloomberg. The number of cars on the road has gone down only nine times in the past century, and another decrease would mean even more bad news for automakers.

“Gas prices have plummeted, but that’s definitely not going to last for all eternity,” says one woman who decided she and her husband could get away with sharing a car. The shrinking US motor pool also means less money for states that rely on vehicle registration fees to maintain roads. (More auto sales stories.)