History: United States Of America, 1970-1979

Everyday personal transportation in the United States is dominated by the automobile driving on one of 13 million roads. As of 2003, there were 759 automobiles per 1,000 Americans, compared to 472 per 1,000 inhabitants of the European Union the following year. About 40% of personal vehicles are vans, SUVs, or light trucks. The average American adult (accounting for all drivers and nondrivers) spends 55 minutes driving every day, traveling 29 miles (47 km).
The civil airline industry is entirely privately owned, while most major airports are publicly owned. The four largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are American; Southwest Airlines is number one. Of the world's thirty busiest passenger airports, sixteen are in the United States, including the busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. While transport of goods by rail is extensive, relatively few people use rail to travel, within or between cities. Mass transit accounts for 9% of total U.S. work trips, compared to 38.8% in Europe. Bicycle usage is minimal, well below European levels.