Factors affecting land travel

The paper discusses some preliminary findings on how fuel prices and other factors are linked with automobile fuel use, travel and fuel economy. It is shown that there is a clear crosssectional relationship between fuel prices and both on-road (actual) fleet fuel intensity and new-car test fuel intensity. There is also a clear relationship between the fuel prices and both fuel use per car and fuel use per capita. Although the paper focuses on price effects, it discusses other determinants of fuel use. An important new element in the study is the quantification of the components of the differences in automobile fuel use. In particular, the authors have been able to develop comparable time series of numbers of vehicles, driving distances, and fuel intensity by fuel type. The discussion is focused on what the international data imply for fuel use in the USA, with particular emphasis on the comparison with Europe. Despite the US focus in the paper, however, most of the findings are relevant to the other countries studies. The paper concludes with a discussion of what policy measures might restrain future automobile fuel use.