NEW YORK -- About 40% of Americans said they would curb their driving habits if retail gasoline prices shot up to $3.50 a gallon, according to a new Reuters/Zogby poll.
Price thresholds for cutting time on the road varied, with about 19% of participants responding they would cut back at $4 per gallon. Another 9% said it would take $4.50, while 7% said prices would have to reach $5 a gallon before they would scale back. And 19% indicated that they could not cut their road travel no matter how high prices climb.
Rising energy costs [image-nocss] have already forced many Americans to consider cutting back on travel, retail, and entertainment spending to ease sticker shock at the pump, according to the poll of 524 people across the country.
Gasoline prices in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer, hit a record average in late May of $3.23 a gallon but have since slipped back to just above $3 a gallon, according to auto and travel association AAA.
It's so hard to read what consumer behavior is going to be at higher price pointsbe that $3.50 per gallon or $4 per gallonbecause we're all in uncharted territory, said Geoff Sundstrom, a spokesperson for AAA. The only time AAA has observed flagging consumer demand for gasoline was after prices soared to $3.07 a gallon after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Sundstrom said. Prices hit a fresh record this year due to a spate of refinery problems that cut fuel production during the spring and as geopolitical tensions raised the cost of crude.
With each passing year, we're experiencing new highs, said Sundstrom. But he added, We've not had a climate where large numbers of Americans are fearing for their economic future.
As energy costs rise, 39% of the people in the poll said they would compensate by limiting their energy use, while 22% said they would cut entertainment spending and 12% said they would cut retail spending.
Economists have been concerned that high energy costs could have a knock-on effect on the U.S. retail sector.
In some parts of the United States, gasoline prices are already near or above $3.50 per gallon. Motorists in Juneau, Alaska, are paying $3.47 while in Wailuku, Hawaii, they are paying $3.59 a gallon, AAA said.
The Reuters/Zogby poll also reflected the increasing popularity of gasoline-electric hybrids, with 45% of people polled saying they expected to own a hybrid in 10 years, compared with 20% who said they expected to own a gasoline-only car. Hybrid car sales have grown by more than 50% during the last year, according to HybridCars.com, while the overall car market shrank by 3%. Sales of the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid in the United States, rose 83%.
The findings are the result of questions asked between July 12 and 14 of 524 U.S. voters who identified themselves as members of an investor class. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, Reuters said. The respondents were a subset of a broader survey of 1,012 likely voters who were asked about topics ranging from President Bush's performance to whether they shopped at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
These Reuters/Zogby findings echo those of a recent Opinion Research Corp. (ORC) survey conducted for the nonprofit Civil Society Institute (CSI) think tank and its 40MPG.org project that said nearly three out of four Americans (72%) expect gasoline prices to reach $3.50 a gallon this summer and just over one in four (28%) foresee prices at $4 a gallon in the next few months.
About half of Americans said they will "definitely" or "probably" cut back on personal spending (51%) and summer or end-of-year holiday travel (46%) if gasoline reaches $3.50 a gallon this summer. Nearly three in 10 (29%) Americans say they are more likely to buy a hybrid or other highly fuel-efficient car if gasoline hits $3.50 a gallon.
More than four out of five Americans (83%) already think that there is price gouging going on at the gasoline pump today.
More than three out of four Americans (77%) said they believe the federal government is not doing enough about the high cost of energy and this country's dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Nearly two thirds of Republicans (64%) said they think the government isn't doing enough compared to 79% of Independents and 88% of Democrats.
More than two-thirds of Americans (67%) said that recent gasoline price increases make it more important that the federal government take steps to increase the fuel-efficiency standards in this country. Only 22% sid that price hikes have had no impact on the need for such action and fewer than one in 10 (9%) said it is now less important that the government take action. There is strong support across party lines for such action, including 61% of Republicans, 65% of Independents and 75% of Democrats.
There is considerable public support for a windfall profits tax on oil companies if the revenue is used to research alternative energy (77%).
Higher fuel prices would hit those with lower incomes the hardest. About three-fifths (61%) of those in households with less than $25,000 in income said they will definitely or probably have to cut back on personal spending if gasoline hits $3.50 a gallon, compared to about half (51%) of all households).
Women (88%) are more likely then men (77%) to perceive such price gouging at the gasoline pump. The overall level of 83% of Americans seeing gasoline price gouging is roughly the same as in September 2005 (86%) when CSI/40MPG.org asked the same question during a time of escalating gasoline prices and calls for a windfall profits tax on oil company profits.
Over half of Americans (54%) would support raising the taxes on gasoline sales if that revenue would be used for research into alternative fuels. This idea is more popular with women (58%) than it is with men (50%). The idea of earmarking a portion of existing federal income taxes for research into alternative fuels is a popular idea among those age 18-24 (74%).
More than three out of four Americans (78%) said they support using some of the money collected in the Federal Highway Trust Fund from taxes on gasoline sales, to investigate alternative energy sources.
Two-thirds of Americans are either more likely (35%) or just as likely (31%) to buy a hybrid, clean-diesel or other highly fuel efficient car as they were six months ago. Less than a third (31%) say they are less likely to make such a purchase.
The CSI/40MPG.org survey used a sample of 1,013 adults (504 men and 509 women) aged 18 and over living in private households in the continental United States. Interviewing for this survey was completed April 19-22, 2007.
Click here for the full survey report.
Meanwhile, a survey by marketing information company TNS in May said consumers overwhelmingly blame oil companies for the higher gasoline prices, with more than 90% reporting oil companies were somewhat responsible or completely responsible. The U.S. government and foreign governments were each selected by more than 80% of consumers as responsible. Automakers are perceived to be least responsible for higher gasoline prices (fewer than one-third of respondents), though consumers expect them to help offset the impact of higher fuel costs.
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