TRANSPORTATION ENERGY DATA BOOK: EDITION 20 - Center for ...

Highway
Automobiles
Table 2.12
Energy Intensities of Passenger Modes, 1970-98
In reference to transportation, the energy intensity of a mode is the ratio of the energy inputs to
a process to a measure of the useful outputs from that process; for example, Btu per pmt or Btu
per ton-mile. The energy intensity ratios were calculated for each passenger mode using the
following data sources:
Vmt - DOT, FHWA, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, Table VM-201A, and Table VM-1
of the 1996-98 editions.
Pmt - vmt multiplied by the load factor.
Energy Use - Total gallons of fuel for automobiles was taken from DOT, FHWA,
Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, Table VM-20 1A; and Table VM- 1 in the 1996-98
annual editions. Fuel for automobiles was distributed between fuel types for conversion
into Btu’s as follows:
1970-80 - 94.7% gasoline, 5.3% diesel as reported in the DOE, EIA, Office of Energy
Markets and End Use, Residential Energy Consumption Survey: Consumption
Patterns of Household Vehicles, June 1979 to December 1980, p. 10.
1981-82 - 94.1% gasoline, 5.9% diesel as reported in the DOE, EIA, Office of Energy
Markets and End Use, Residential Energy Consumption Survey: Consumption
Patterns ofHousehold Vehicles, Supplement: January I981 to September 1981, pp.
11, 13.
1983-84 - 97.5% gasoline, 2.5% diesel as reported in the DOE, EIA, Office of Markets
and End Use, Energy End Use Division, Residential Transportation Energy
Consumption Survey: Consumption Patterns of Household Vehicles, 1983, Jan.,
1985, pp. 7, 9.
1985-87 - 98.5% gasoline, 1.5% diesel as reported in the DOE, EIA, Office of Energy
Markets and End Use, Residential Transportation Energy Consumption Survey.
Consumption Patterns of Household Vehicles 1985, April 1987, pp. 25,27.
1988-90 - 98.8% gasoline and 1.2% diesel as reported in the DOE, EIA, Office of
Markets and End Use, Energy End Use Division, Household Vehicles Energy
Consumption 1988, March 1990, p. 65.
1991-93 - 97.8% gasoline, 1 .O% gasohol, and I .2% diesel as reported in the DOE, EIA,
Office of Markets and End Use, Energy End Use Division, Household Vehicles
Energy Consumption 1991, December 1993, p. 46.
1994-98 - 97.7% gasoline, 1.0% gasohol, 1.3% diesel as reported in the DOE, EIA,
Office of Energy Markets and End Use, Household Vehicles Energy Consumption
1994, Washington, DC, August 1997, p. 46.
1993-98 - Methanol use was estimated using data from DOE, EIA, Alternatives to
Traditional Transportation Fuels 1999, Washington, DC, 1998, Table 12.
1993-98 - Natural gas data are from the DOE, EIA Natural Gas Annual 1998, Table 1;
transit bus natural gas was subtracted from the total and the remainder was assumed
to be light vehicle use. Automobiles were assumed to use 25% of light vehicle
natural gas use.
TRANSPORTATION ENERGY DATA BOOK: EDITION 20-2000
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