But if you know anyone who still has their doubts about just how much our country has cut back on driving — and just how long we’ve been doing it for — be sure to show them this new report from the Washington, D.C. think tank The Brookings Institution.

There’s a whole lot of data and analysis available if you want to read the whole report, but for someone looking to get a general idea of what’s happening on our roads, this first sentence really says it all:

Driving, as measured by national VMT[vehicle miles traveled], began to plateau as far back as 2004 and dropped in 2007 for the first time since 1980. Per capita driving followed a similar pattern, with flat-lining growth after 2000 and falling rates since 2005. These recent declines in driving predated the steady hikes in gas prices during 2007 and 2008. Moreover, the recent drops in VMT (90 billion miles) and VMT per capita (388 miles) are the largest annualized drops since World War II.

Combine those numbers with our skyrocketing demand for transit, and it seems pretty clear what Americans want — clean, green infrastructure, and a complete transportation system that gives us plenty of options for getting around.