Record gas prices helped to keep increased numbers of Americans off the roads at the start of summer vacation, including in Pennsylvania, where driving fell 2.6 percent in June, according to data released by the Federal Highway Administration yesterday.

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Drivers in Pennsylvania clocked 241 million fewer miles in June than in the same month last year, significant because June is a busy travel month, with families hitting the roads for summer vacation. Instead, more people took public transportation, walked or rode bikes and spent their summer vacations closer to home.

The biggest drop in driving was on the state's rural roads, which saw a 5 percent decline, according to the agency. Driving on urban roads dropped 2.4 percent.

Across the country, motorists drove 4.7 percent less, or 12.2 billion fewer miles, in June compared with a year ago, marking the eighth straight monthly drop in driving nationally.

During those eight months, from November to June, Americans drove 53.2 billion fewer miles than in the same period a year earlier. That's a sharper decline, according to the agency, than the 49.3 billion fewer miles Americans traveled during the oil shock of the 1970s.

Pennsylvania saw a smaller drop in driving in June than such popular vacation states as Maine, down 7 percent, and Florida, down 6 percent, and Western states including Montana, down 7.7 percent, and Washington, down 6.9 percent, according to the agency.

"People are still taking their trips. They're just staying closer to home," said Bevi Powell, a spokeswoman for AAA's East Central region. People in Western Pennsylvania favored relatively closer attractions this summer, she said, including North Carolina's Outer Banks, Gettysburg, Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, Niagara Falls and Ocean City, Md.

The number of hotel rooms sold in Pennsylvania from January to June was up 0.8 percent from 2007, suggesting that tourism in the state has held steady despite high gas prices, said Michael Chapaloney, a state tourism office spokesman.

"What's helping us is our location to so many areas," he said. "If someone is in the New York metro area, they may not drive to the Outer Banks or as far as Virginia, but they can still come and experience Pennsylvania."

For some, though, even nearby locales were too expensive a trek this summer.

"We go nowhere," said Angela O'Donnell, 36, of South Fayette, who said she and her six children did not make it to their cabin in Schellsburg, Bedford County, this summer. "We started [limiting driving] when gas hit three bucks ... At $3.80, it got even worse."

The drop in driving also means that motorists like Ms. O'Donnell consumed nearly 400 million fewer gallons of gasoline during the first quarter of 2008, or about 1.3 percent less than during the same period last year.

Americans instead are opting to walk, bike or take the bus. In a telephone survey by AARP, the results of which also were released yesterday, one in three people age 50 and over said they are now walking as a way to avoid pump prices.

Port Authority buses and trolleys have drawn more riders. The 33X West Busway-All Stops route, for example, had an average of 3,179 riders per weekday in June, compared with 1,728 in June last year.

"I just don't drive anymore," said Bonnie Parrilla of Ingram. She now walks to do some of her errands, including trips to the grocery store. "If I need to, I just take the bus."

Though it saves money for consumers, that philosophy means less money for highway, road and bridge improvements, which are paid for in part by gasoline taxes. Pennsylvania's gasoline tax is 32.3 cents per gallon, on top of the 18.4-cent federal tax.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's fuel tax revenue collections are $70 million short of projections, spokesman Shawn Houck said, adding that "roads and bridges will suffer as a result of less fuel being sold."

"People are doing a lot better job of planning than they used to," Mr. Houck said. "They are being selective about where they are driving and how far they are driving. People are sort of in limbo, waiting to see when this is going to level out."

Gas prices nationwide reached record levels in July, and since have fallen by more than 30 cents per gallon. If they continue to fall, drivers might revert to their previous consumption habits, said Jason Toews, co-founder of GasBuddy.com and PittsburghGasPrices.com, Web sites where consumers swap tips about where to find the cheapest gas.

A summer driving decline isn't surprising, Mr. Toews said, but he doesn't think it will last.

"You won't see the same change in quarter four of this year, where we'll see some of the cheapest gas prices this year," he said. "We're becoming desensitized to high gas prices. We resume our old habits when gas prices start going down."