Washington's Energy Indicators

17.  Transportation Sector Trends — Fuel Cost of Driving and Miles Driven

WASHINGTONIANS DROVE 50 PERCENT MORE MILES PER CAPITA IN 1995 THAN THEY DID IN 1970. A BIG REASON IS THE FUEL COST OF DRIVING, WHICH REMAINS AT HISTORIC LOWS.

This indicator juxtaposes the fuel cost of driving with miles per driven per capita in Washington. Not surprisingly, these series exhibit a strong inverse relationship. The fuel cost of driving, calculated as real dollar highway energy expenditures divided by vehicle-miles traveled (VMT), spiked upward in 1974 and 1979-1980 as a result of the oil shocks. VMT per capita dropped slightly in response to higher prices, as people temporarily curtailed unnecessary driving. However, long-term factors such as land-use patterns, commuting habits, and the long lifetimes of vehicles mean that large swings in fuel prices lead to only small changes in miles driven.

Increasing sales of more fuel-efficient vehicles in the early 1980s combined with declines in the price of highway fuels to cause a rapid drop in the fuel cost of driving, from a high of 13.8¢ per mile in 1981 to 7.3¢ in 1986 (in 1992 dollars). Gains in fuel efficiency since the early 1970s made this the lowest value in history. However, real gasoline prices have changed little since 1986, and increases in vehicle fuel efficiency have slowed dramatically as well. Meanwhile, vehicle travel increased steadily before falling off in 1993.

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