1. **State the problem:** We need to find the difference in percentage of the total number of drivers using High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) during rush hour between Virginia (VA) and California (CA). 2. **Given data from the bar graph:** - VA: 97 - CA: 152 3. **Formula to calculate percentage difference:** $$\text{Percentage Difference} = \frac{|\text{Value}_1 - \text{Value}_2|}{\text{Average of the two values}} \times 100$$ 4. **Calculate the average of VA and CA:** $$\text{Average} = \frac{97 + 152}{2} = \frac{249}{2} = 124.5$$ 5. **Calculate the absolute difference:** $$|97 - 152| = 55$$ 6. **Calculate the percentage difference:** $$\frac{55}{124.5} \times 100 \approx 44.18\%$$ 7. **Interpretation:** The difference in percentage of HOV users between VA and CA is approximately 44.18%.