SEATTLE — A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows people are buying less gas in 2022.
Washington state is seeing a 5% drop in sales, which is almost 500,000 gallons of gas a day, according to an analyst with QuoteWizard, the Seattle-based company that compiled the data.
For Christopher Aguilar, it was a calculated decision to press pause at the pump.
"It's kind of hard right now," Aguilar said. "I feel like nowadays more people are taking public transportation because they realize prices are getting higher."
Aguilar now rides the bus every day for work.
"Even traveling, going out, I can't spend all that money on gas," he added.
Gas sales are now trending down in 2022, according to analyst Nick VinZant with QuoteWizard.
"We haven't seen fuel usage this low since 1995," said VinZant. "So we've gone back 25 years in terms of how much gas we're using."
VinZant said it comes down to three contributing factors: more people working from home, high gas prices, and an increased acceptance of alternative vehicles.
"People are using less gas because it's more expensive, and they're making that switch to alternative fuel vehicles, and those aren't trends that will change," said VinZant.
According to King County Metro, daily ridership has increased by more than 36,000 riders from January to June of this year.
"I might invest in other forms of travel, I might walk more, maybe get a bike or scooter," said Aguilar.
"The number of employees riding, and some of them from far away like Renton, has definitely increased, and that's directly correlated to the cost of $6 gas," said Gary Tegantvoort., the co-owner of Montlake Bicycle Shop.
With the nice weather and high gas prices, Tegantvoort said it's an easy decision.
"I think there's a big push in the city to find alternate means than driving a car," Tegantvoort said.