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