skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Energy-conservation strategies and their effects on travel demand

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6388288

The types of impact on urban travel demand which might be expected from two broad, multi-faceted energy-conservation strategies are described. Based on sketch planning travel demand modeling conducted for three case-study regions, and generalized extrapolation of these results to national totals, illustrative travel impact results are presented. Five different types of impact are considered: (1) mode choice by trip purpose (work vs. non-work); (2) variations in transit travel by city type; (3) vehicle miles of automobile travel, for work and non-work purposes; (4) variations in trips per capita and trip length, by purpose; and (5) distributional differences in terms of household income levels and location within urban areas (central city, suburban, exurban). The In-Place Policy, marked by a sharp rise in auto out-of-pocket costs, showed no increase in per capita auto travel by 2000, while lowering aggregate energy consumption. The Individual Travel Policy, which lowered auto operation cost relative to In-Place by improvements to auto fuel economy achieved noticeable energy savings with negligible impact on choice of travel mode. The Group Travel Policy, on the other hand, significantly altered mode choice and saved transportation energy in this way. Significant improvements in transit service and strong automobile travel disincentives yielded dramatic shifts to group travel modes for non-work travel. Work travel mode choice was affected to a lesser extent, with increases of 30 to 40% in transit and shared ride mode splits.

Research Organization:
Barton-Aschman Associates, Inc., Evanston, IL (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31-109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
6388288
Report Number(s):
CONF-820128-6; ON: DE83007630
Resource Relation:
Conference: 61. annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, USA, 18 Jan 1982; Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English