30 Billion Miles

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. have decreased for the 6th straight month. The number of highway miles driven from November 2007 to April 2008 in the U.S. fell 1.7 percent from the previous year. Public transit ridership continues to increase as a total of 30 billion fewer miles were driven between November and April. Cambridge Energy Research Associates say the gasoline price shock has finally caught up with consumers. This is the "steepest decline" in U.S. driving mileage since the 1979-1980 Iranian Revolution that caused the oil shock resulting in a significant drop in mileage over those two years, said the Department of Transportation's spokesman Doug Hecox. In April of this year alone Americans drove 1.4 billion fewer highway miles than they did in April 2007. [Source: Reuters]

4 Day Week 3 Day Weekend

Why commute five days a week when you could only commute four? Vermont state senator Vince Illuzzi, R-Essex/Orleans has proposed state offices and schools add an extra day to the weekend to help save on fuel prices. As heating and transportation fuels increase Vermonters are spending more and more money. Consequently, if state offices and schools only had to be heated 4 days a week, and if those who are forced to commute long distances in our rural state could take an extra day off a significant amount of money and fuel could be saved. The idea has not been completely written off, but there would be some obstacles to overcome including meeting the required number of school days. The cities of Birmingham, Ala. and Avondale, Ariz. are among an increasing number of places that have decided to implement the 4 day work week. [Source: Burlington Free Press]

The Rail Comeback

Passenger rail all but disappeared in Vermont and many other parts of the nation in the last 50 some odd years, but now it may be making a comeback. Vermont recently appointed Robert Ide, formerly of the Department of Public Service, to direct Vermont's rail programs. Rail advocates such as Mike Coats, chairman of the Vermont Rail Council, are excited that Ide will takeover this position as they are confident he knows what needs to be done to get rail moving again. Ide may not have the easiest ride, however, as the rail system in Vermont is outdated and non-existent in some places. Whereas, people looking to travel out of state by train 50 or more years ago would have several choices, today they have very few. The rail lines that do transport people out of state, such as the Amtrak Vermonter line, have seen increases in ridership of 14 percent and higher in the past year. As a result, Ide and other rail enthusiasts eyeing raising fuel costs and the potential for this viable alternative may have some room to bring rail in Vermont forward. [Sources: The Reformer 1 & The Reformer 2]

Premium, No Thanks!

Premium gas sales are falling, while cars requiring the higher-octane fuel are rising. In 1997 premium fuel sales held 16.6 percent of the market, in 2007 they claimed only 9.4 percent. From 2006 to 2007 premium sales dropped 0.1 percent. Nevertheless, this year there are 282 new vehicles requiring the fuel, in 2002 only 166 new vehicles required premium as their fuel. Drivers, however, regardless of their car requesting or requiring the fuel are deciding regular or midgrade will do. As a result, gas stations around the nation have been running out of the lower grade fuels for up to two days. Measured by volume, premium sales in March 2008 were 0.4 percent lower than in April 2007. [Source: New York Times]

Locally Grown Fuels

The past 6 months have been a rollercoaster ride for biofuels. They have been criticized as an environmentally dangerous alternative, and praised as a partial way out of our dependence on foreign oil. Of little mention in this criticism, however, is where these biofuels come from and which of these fuels we should be wary of. There could be an argument against the large-scale production of ethanol from food crops, but how about biodiesel from locally grown canola. Vermont farmers are experimenting growing canola, a crop that could not only be used to produce biodiesel at $2.34 a gallon, but could also help clean up Lake Champlain and other waterways. By pressing the canola seeds the fuel is created and the waste product can be fed to cows, thus the phosphorus from imported dairy feed that pollutes Vermont's lakes, rivers, and streams is cut out. Currently seed presses to create the biodiesel are few and far between, but this could change if farmers decide growing this crop is practical. [Source: Burlington Free Press]

Green Labels

California has enacted regulations that will require labels grading all new vehicles sold in the state on their environmental impacts. The labels, similar to an inspection sticker in that they will be required on all vehicle models after 2009, will show vehicle ratings on a 1-10 scale. A score of 10, the highest possible score, will denote cars with the least environmental impacts. There are separate ratings for smog and global warming. The label will show the average vehicle ratings to exemplify where certain vehicles stand on the spectrum. Mary Nichols, California's Air Resources Board Chairwoman, says the labels will "arm consumers with information", further adding that "consumer choice is a powerful tool in our fight against global warming". [Source: MSNBC]

In Other Vermont Transportation News...

Ride Your Bike
The Growing bicycle culture in Vermont... [Source: The Reformer]


Vermont Transit Ridership
Out of the car and onto the bus. [Source: The Reformer]


Make Way for the Pathway
Bennington may get its long awaited pedestrian and bicycle path. [Source: Rutland Herald]


Cheaper
New Yorkers visit Vermont to fuel up for less. [Source: Burlington Free Press]


Forget Carpooling
Burton employees create a bikepool. [Source: Burlington Free Press]

A Glimpse into Transportation at Large...

Win $300 Million
McCain proposes: build a better car battery and you could win a large sum of money - $300 million to be exact. [Source: New York Times]

Oil Rally
Will the oil price push follow in the footsteps of the dot-com rise and fall of 2000? [Source: Bloomberg]

Biodiesel Business
The EU will investigate the U.S. exports of biodiesel. [Source: New York Times]

Roadway Runoff
How to green the highways... [Source: Boston Globe]

Need to Get Around
The 2001 Segway hype may be back as sales are sailing. [Source: Wall Street Journal]

Mr. President
Bush looks to offshore drilling to remedy high oil prices. [Source: CNN]

Oil Advertisements
Oil companies do everything they can to ward off anger over gas prices. [Source: Wall Street Journal]

Hydrogen

Honda unveils first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle intended for mass production. [Source: New York Times]

Hybrid SUVs

Chrysler wants a piece of the hybrid market and looks to SUVs as their niche. [Source: San Francisco Gate]

MPG or GPM
A recent study published in Science Magazine says rating vehicles based on gallons per mile rather than miles per gallon would help consumers better understand their savings. [Source: EE News]


I Walked to School Up Hill Both Ways...
The cost of fuels may have more students walking to school next year. [Source: Washington Post]

Weekly Petro-Stats

Gas at the Pump, Vermont

This Week (June 19-24) = $4.085/gallon
Last Week (June 12-18) = $4.080/gallon
Last Year (June 12-25, 2007) = $3.005/gallon


Crude Oil Futures

This Week (June 19-24) = $135.67/barrel
Last Week (June 12-18) = $135.07/barrel