Some Transport Statistics
General
Transport represents 34% of UK energy consumption and 22% of carbon emissions
In 2005, 99% of all fuel used for transport in the UK was petroleum
The average car is only used for 5% of the time but uses 45% of transport energy – the balance is goods vehicles (24%) and air transport (23%).
75% of all car journeys in the UK are less than 8 km
Stroud district CO2 emissions
These are approximately 1,150,000 tonnes of which transport makes up 40% of 460,000 tonnes – of which approximately half is from diesel and half from petrol engines. The balance is industry and commerce @ 391,000 and domestic @ 299,000. (Source – DEFRA)
The unrealistic price of oil
1 Litre of oil = 9.5 kW of energy. One person can on average generate 100 watts per hour with physical labour. Therefore 1 litre of oil = 95 hours of human toil. At £5 per hour this equals £475. Oil is undervalued. No other fuel is as energy dense or convenient to handle. Coal has 40% of the calorific value – and needs energy to convert it to a convenient format as a transport fuel.
Transport costs/The 'Treasury Bias'
Between 1985 and 2003:
The cost of driving a car fell by 5%
Average disposable income rose by 118%
The cost of bus fares rose by 71%
The cost of train fares rose by 84%
The Treasury gives a higher “economic” value to a journey to the supermarket by car than by bike – because someone in a car is likely to purchase more than someone in a car.