That's bit spooky. A lot less cars in downtown area. Cheap gas really doesn't amount to anything if you suddenly become unemployed without much savings. Sure it helps a bit but in a big picture of things, gas prices is least of their worries. Probably lot less driving so less need for gas.

Speaking of which, I just heard that bottom 40% of American household has negative assets meaning they owe more money than what they own and have. while top 0.1% owns more than half the wealth in USA.

Anyway, car ownership is wayy over rated. Might be just cheaper to rent a vehicle when you really need it. So it may cost you $100/day. But that's just one day out of how many days of being car free? While car ownership entails, payment if you are like most, probably $10 to $20 a day ($300/mo to $600/mo payment) Insurance at probably $4 or more per day ($1200/yr), to gas and maintenance and it all adds up. before you realize, you might be spending $25-$50 per day just to say you own a car. Renting for a day at $100 is much cheaper if you can be mostly car free.