Post on 17-Jan-2018
description
Transportation
Erika GretherMeghan Lockwood
How Have US Driving Habits Changed Since 1970?
How many people drive?In 1970, there were about 150 million people of driving age in the US
Of those 150 million, 115 million actually had drivers licenses
Today, there are around 230 million people of driving age in the US
Of those 230 million, about 200 million have drivers licenses
Only 76% of the population over the driving age had a drivers license in 1970(115 million / 150 million)
Today, that number has increased to 86%(200 million / 230 million)
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 200574
76
78
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
Percent of Households with Vehicles
Years
Perc
enta
ge
How many vehicles are there on the roads?
At the end of 2009 there were 246 million cars on the roads.
There were only an additional 129,000 classified as public transit vehicles.
How much gasoline does the US consume?
In 1970, the US consumed 2,000,000,000 gallons of oil, just for the use of fuel in transportation
Last year, we used 7,117,500,000 gallons of gasoline total.
3,295,950,000 gallons of it was for transportation(46%)
Fuel Consumption
1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002500520540560580600620640
Fuel Consumption per Vehicle
Years
Gal
lons
1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 20020
20
40
60
80
100
120
Total Fuel Consumption in US
Years
Billi
on G
allo
ns
63%
1%
9%
5%
3%
2%
17%
AutomobilesBusesAviationBoatsPipelineRailLarge trucks
Percentage of total energy (27%) used for each category of vehicle
Public Transportation
58 26
8413
BusesDemand responsive vehiclesHeavy Rail CarsCommuter Rail carsLight RailOther
How far do people drive?
The average commuting distance to work, one way, in 1970 was 9.5 miles (18 miles round trip)
Today that average is 15 miles one way (30 miles round trip)
Miles traveled for work every yearSo if we were to calculate about how many miles
people traveled to work in a year:
Weekdays in a year ~ 2611970: 261 days x 19 miles = 4959 miles/yearToday: 261 days x 30 miles = 7830 miles/year
JUST FOR WORK!
Average Gas mileage
The average gas mileage in 1970 was 17 mpg
Today it is 25 mpg
So an 8 mpg improvement...in 40 years
Miles Traveled per person and Fuel Consumed/year
Year Average miles traveled/person/year
Fuel consumed – Automobiles (thousands barrels per day)
Fuel consumed – Public Transit (thousand barrels per day)
1970 10,000 5969 315
95% 5%
1991 13,000 8330 285
96% 4%
2008 15,000 11067 360
96% 4%
If everyone in the US drove 15,000 miles and we all got 25 mpg, we would use 600 gallons of gas per
person every year.
15,000 miles / 25 mpg = 600 gallons
LimitationsAverages used
Not entirely accurateNot every year’s data available
Selected yearsSurveys were accurate?
Hard to know
Referenceshttp://blog.sustainable.orghttp://cta.ornl.govwww.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/energy/uses/transportation.p
hpwww.autoblog.com/2010www.nationalatlas.govwww.eia.doe.gov/steo/4atab.pdfwww.fhwa.dot.govwww.project.org