The nation's drivers have reduce their driving by 40 billion miles to cope with high fuel prices, 3.7% fewer miles in May of this year than May of last year. This is more than double the drop off seen in April.
However fewer miles driven mean that fewer fuel taxes are collected, one of the primary ways the Highway Trust Fund is replenished. The Highway Trust Fund provides the money for all national transportation programs including road maintenance, bridge repair, and mass transit; current estimates show that it will have a deficit of $5 bilion by 2009.
DOT officials are trying to develop alternative funding mechanisms; in the meantime, the House approved an $8 billion transfer from the general fund into the highway fund. Similar legislation in the Senate was stalled by filibuster soon after.
Anecdotes show that Vermonters are also driving less.
[Sources: Wall Street Journal 7/28 & 7/24, International Herald Tribune, Land Line Magazine]
More than $1.5 million in federal grants will help fund more buses in 8 of the 12 transit-serviced areas in Vermont, covering the areas of Addison, Chittenden, Washington, Franklin and Grand Isle, Orange and Windsor Counties, along with Dover, Wilmington, and the Northeast Kingdom.
[Source: Rutland Herald]
The Natural Resources Defense Council ranked Vermont the 31st most 'oil addicted' state in the nation, based on the percentage of income its residents spent on gasoline last year. The average amount Vermont motorists spent on gasoline was $1,856. It also ranked 16th in terms of taking action to reduce this dependency on oil, including smart growth and support for regional planning commissions.
[Sources: Boston Globe, Fox News 44]
The Vermont Agency of Transportation has concluded its statewide public forums to inform its Short Range Public Transportation Plan. Average meeting turnout has been around 40. Tentative plans will be created based on the feedback and presented at another set of forums will be held in late August or in October. At that point top priorities will be identified.
Public input is still welcome at the VTrans website here.
[Source: Rutland Herald]
The nonprofit Carshare Vermont (formerly Green Mountain Car Share) has launched its website that explains how the program works, where its cars are located, how much it costs to participate, and explains benefits of car sharing as well. Organizers anticipate a September launch of the program itself. All locations are currently in Burlington but if the first stage is successful, the organization hopes to expand in the future.
[Source: CarShare Vermont]
An Albany-based developer of alternative fuels will be planting oil-rich pennycress at three sites in New York, this fall. Soybean, a popular biodiesel crop, is 18% oil; the seed of pennycress is 36% oil. Other benefits of developing pennycress as a biodiesel crop is that it grows over the winter, and that is is often a weed in soy fields and so can enable farmers to produce fuel in the winter and food in the summer from soybeans.
[Sources: Times Union, Biofuels Journal]
A new policy report provides recommendations as to how biofuels policies can best promote their economic and environmental benefits and minimize their drawbacks. Among the conclusions are that governments should avoid simplistic changes to current policies, for example eliminating biofuels mandates and incentives. Instead, the report urges governments to initiate an orderly, innovation-enhancing transition towards incentives that coordinate the multiple goals of biofuels development.
Development of an international market to couple supply and demand is encouraged, as well as incentives for large scale R&D, and biofuel production centered in those regions where feedstocks can be grown most efficiently and where undesirable impacts are the smallest.
Further, the report warns that the potential benefits of an international market could be outweighed by the risks of damage to food and environmental systems unless adequate protective measures are simultaneously introduced. These protective measures will likely include the explicit recognition that sustainable production of biofuels cannot be expanded indefinitely. There are intrinsic limits on the productive capacity of ecosystems, constraining yields per unit of available area and the amount of area that can be dedicated to sustainable biofuels production.
[Source: Harvard Kennedy School of Government]
Bike-Ped planning
Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization updating Regional Bicycle-Pedestrian Plan. [CCMPO]
Pedestrian needs on South Burlington's front burner. [Burlington Free Press]
Public transit
CCTA is planning to cut service on two Burlington routes and raise the fare on the its Middlebury LINK Express route to counter rising fuel costs.
[VPR, CCTA, Burlington Free Press]
Advance Transit may have to detour two routes to New Hampshire as weight limit for corroded Lebonan-White River Junction bridge is lowered. [Union Leader]
Policy watch
Vermont's Congressman weighs in on his plans for the energy future. [Rutland Herald]
Schools feel the pinch
Milton School District facing 27% increase in transportation costs this year [Burlington Free Press]
Telecommuting future
Vermont Telecommunications Authority hopes to increase broadband coverage by including mobile broadband technology on cell towers it constructs [Bennington Banner]
The Candidates
The Associate Press compares McCain and Obama energy plans. [Associated Press]
Walking is gaining
Google Maps and AOL Maps have added "Walking Directions" their "Get Directions" tools. [Business Week]
Cellulosic ethanol advances
University of Georgia researchers make efficiency gains in producing cellulosic ethanol. [University of Georgia]
Idling soon a thing of the past?
Executives at Ford, GM and Chrysler say that hybrid technology to eliminate gas consumption during engine idling will be the standard within 10 years. [Examiner.com]
RFS retained
EPA denies Texas request to waive Renewable Fuels Standard. [New York Times, CNN Money, Dallas Morning News]
Impacts of gas prices
Gas prices have increased online sales, reduced grocery and unnecessary purchases, increased efficient driving by trucking companies, and may even be reducing traffic fatalities. [NPR]
Big oil vs. Big Ag
Big Oil is apparently losing ground to Big Ag groups like Archer Daniels Mindland Co. in their influence over U.S. energy policy. [Bloomberg]
Electric cars for India?
Indian auto manufacturer gain TATA to develop electric car. [Newstrack India]
Britain's electric role model
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to replace official Jaguar with electric limo. [Sunday Mirror]
Compressed air to displace gas as fuel?
A compressed air car that gets 100 miles per gallon? [CNN]
Gas at the Pump VT Crude Oil Futures
This Week $3.925/gallon $118.876/barrel
(Aug 4-10)
Last Week $3.972/gallon $124.574/barrel
(Jul 28-Aug 3)
This Week $2.891/gallon
Last Year
Both houses of Congress have passed transportation bills pledging over $10 billion for Amtrak and high speed rail connecting New York City and Washington D.C. The Senate and House are now in conference regarding the details of the final bill. [Summary of the bill here.]
Vermont completed Phase I of a Boston to Montreal high-speed rail study in 2003, which found that there would be enough demand to support such a service. Phase II suffered a setback when New Hampshire decided to withdraw from the project. It is now back underway with Massachusetts as the partner; the current plans have the corridor passing through Springfield, Mass. to get into Vermont. Charlie Miller, Rail Planning Coordinator at VTrans, anticipates that a consultant for the Phase II study will be selected this fall. [View Phase I report here.]
Meanwhile, New Hampshire high-speed rail advocates are gathering public support to continue the Phase II route as originally planned through New Hampshire.
[Sources: Library of Congress Thomas database, Asbury Park Press, Masslive.com, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Boston Globe, Foster's Daily Democrat]
The Springfield School Board is considering changes to its bus routes to save on transportation energy costs, while balancing their statutory responsibility to provide transportation to those who need it. They're not alone. Other schools are balancing transportation and school meal program budgets (Dodge City, KS), school choice programs (Cape Coral, FL), field trip programs (San Jose, CA; Clute, TX), athletic events (Wilkes County, NC).
Some schools have been able to take action, like purchasing propane buses (San Antonio), plug in hybrid electric-diesel buses (Austin Independent School District), and more efficient routing (Northfield, MN) and asking students to walk further to bus stops (Seattle, WA).
[Sources: Rutland Herald, Dodge Globe, The Houston Chronicle, The Daily Texan,
ABC San Francisco, Wilkes Journal-Patriot, Northfield News, TheFacts.com, LA Times]
Haulers and other fleets around the country are taking action to reduce fuel costs and benefitting the environment at the same time. Choosing smaller or alternatively fueled fleet vehicles, making use of electrified truck stops, using GPS to streamline dispatching, and educating drivers about idling reduction are among the best practices.
[Sources: St. Petersburg Times, York Daily Record, PECO Exelon Corporation]
Freightliner LLC, Navistar International Corp., Kenowrth Truck Co., and Peterbilt Motors are developing or producing larger hybrid diesel-electric trucks. They are expensive but save 30-60% on fuel costs, depending on how they are used. The technology makes sense for delivery and garbage trucks, buses and other stop-and-go vehicles. Hybrid utility vehicles and others that need auxiliary power also can save on fuel.
In Vermont, Casella Waste Systems and Central Vermont Public Service pioneers.
[Source: Arizona Republic]
Diesel engines are 30-40% more fuel efficient than gas engines. Manchester, VT recently played host to the global launch and test drive of three new diesel SUVs from Mercedes: the 2009 ML 320, GL 320, and R320 BlueTec. All three are clean enough to be sold in Vermont, certified as Bin 5 Ultra Low Emission Vehicles. Volkswagen and Audi are both releasing similar technology diesels: VW's Jetta TDI models are due this August and Audi's Q7 SUV is scheduled for early 2009 launch.
According to a study conducted by Kelley's Blue Book, U.S. consumers are much more likely to think that hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, and ethanol mix vehicle technologies are more likely to go mainstream than diesels.
[Source: The Globe and Mail]
Commuters are turning to scooters, motorcycles, and bicycles to save gas money. The motorized two-wheelers can get 70 miles per gallon of gas.
[Source: WCAX, Autobloggreen]
The 2008 Telework Exchange awards showcased six best practice employers that support telework, or telecommuting. Award winners had programs that helped mobile workers skip office commutes, regular surveys to test program performance, an in-house telework committee to act as oversight, a web-based application process, a call center telework program, and dedicated program promotion staff.
[Source: Telework Exchange]
VTrans vanpool program projected to create up to 100 vanpools by the end of the fiscal year. [Brattleboro Reformer]
Transportation Research center event on gas prices and consumer behavior sparks productive discussion. [Burlington Free Press]
Springfield has started its long-awaited downtown sidewalk reconstruction. [Rutland Herald]
