A report by the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition & UVM Transportation Research Center

The Vermont Transportation

Energy Report (2007)

Report # 07-001 | July 2007

The Vermont Transportation Energy Report 2007
Vehicles, Fuels and Fuel Use in 2006

In 2006, more than $1 billion was spent in Vermont purchasing gasoline

and diesel, an increase of more than $500 million since 2002.

Submitted by
Elaine Wang, Graduate Student Intern, UVM Transportation Center
Richard Watts, Ph.D, Senior Research Analyst, UVM Transportation Center
Karen Glitman, Clean Cities Coordinator, UVM Transportation Center

July 27, 2007

The Vermont Transportation Energy Report 2007
Annual Vehicles, Fuels and Fuel Use

Table of contents:

1. Executive Summary
2. Status: Fuel consumption
a. Sales
b. Prices

3. Automobiles
a. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
b. Emissions data
c. Vehicle numbers

4. Alternatives to the Traditional Automobile

a. State spending on transportation
b. Bus ridership
c. Alternative fuel vehicles
d. Inducements to drive less

5. Fuel Economy
a. Efficient vehicles
b. Transportation Demand Management

6. Activities
a. State Policies
b. Non-profit Sector

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 Executive Summary

The transportation sector is the largest user of petroleum in Vermont, consuming more
petroleum than any other primary end user.

In 2006, more than $1 billion was spent in Vermont purchasing gasoline and diesel. This
is an increase of more than $500 million dollars since 2002. In these five years, in-state
spending on transportation fuels has almost doubled while gasoline and diesel fuel use
has remained almost the same. Most of these dollars are exported out of state to purchase
the fuel. The reason for the increase in spending is the rapid increase in gasoline prices
over the last five years.

Gasoline sales in Vermont decreased between 2002 and 2006 while diesel sales increased
about 10 percent during the same time period.

Vehicle registrations and licenses both increased between 2004 and 2005. Registrations
increased more than licenses issued, which in turn increased more than the Vermont
population, suggesting that more vehicles were bought than new drivers were added to
the population.

Purchases of all of top-ranked fuel-efficient new vehicles available for sale in 2006 (i.e.
Model Year 2006 and 2007) comprised 6.6 percent of the total new vehicle sales in
Vermont in 2006.

In a 2000 Vermont Agency of Transportation survey, two thirds of Vermonters polled

said there were no actions that would cause them to drive less. In a matching 2006 survey
of 600 Vermonters, the number of Vermonters who said there were no actions that would
cause them to drive less had dropped to 37 percent.

In 2007, The University Transportation Center commissioned the Center for Rural
Studies to include survey questions related to transportation alternatives in their annual
“Vermonter Poll.” Five hundred sixty-five households were asked what actions,
circumstances, or transportation alternatives might encourage them to drive less. The

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most number of people responded that they would drive less if public transportation were
improved.

This report provides policy makers with clear data on the status of fuel consumption,
vehicle purchases and public opinion that can be used as a basis for policy discussions
and initiatives. The Vermont Clean Cities Coalition will continue to provide this data on
an annual basis.

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1. Fuel Consumption

1a. Transportation Fuel Sales in Vermont

The transportation sector is the largest user of petroleum in Vermont, consuming more
petroleum than any other primary end user, including; industrial (manufacturing),
residential (energy use by homes), and commercial (energy use by commercial
buildings).

Gasoline sales in Vermont decreased between 2002 and 2006. Diesel sales increased
about 10 percent during the same time period. Although biodiesel sales have increased
exponentially since 2004 they remain a small portion of overall transportation fuel sales.

Table 1. Gallons of Fuel Sold in Vermont by Calendar Year for the Transportation
Sector (in millions of gallons.)
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Gas 346 357 355 361 344
Diesel 66.7 68.4 68.3 68.0 72.2
Bio- NA 0.01 0.06 0.28 1.40
Diesel 1
Total 413 425 423 429 418

Transportation fuel sales in Vermont

400

350

300
millions of gallons

250
gas
200 diesel
biodiesel*
150

100

50

0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
calendar year

Figure 1. Gallons of Fuel Sold in Vermont by Calendar Year for the Transportation
Sector (in millions of gallons.)
Source: Joint Fiscal Office and Vermont Biofuels Association 2

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1b. Transportation Fuel Prices
In 2006, more than $1 billion was spent in Vermont purchasing gasoline and diesel. This
is an increase of more than $500 million since 2002. In five years, in-state spending on
transportation fuels has almost doubled while gasoline and diesel fuel used has remained
almost the same. Most of these dollars are exported out of state to purchase the fuel. The
reason for the increase in spending is the rapid increase in gasoline prices over the last
five years.

Table 2. Average Annual Costs for the Purchase of Petroleum in Vermont by

Calendar Year
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Gas Price/ gallon $1.36 $1.59 $1.88 $2.31 $2.59

Diesel Price/gallon $1.45 $1.71 $1.97 $2.58 $2.86

Total Spent* $567 $686 $802 $1.01 $1.10

million million million billion billion
*Petroleum sales times avg. cost per gallon.

Verm ont average annual gas and diesel prices

Total annual spending on gasoline and diesel

$3.50
$1,200

$3.00
$1,000
$2.50
millions of dollars spent
price per gallon

$800
$2.00

$1.50 $600

$1.00
$400

$0.50
$200
$0.00
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
$0
calendar year
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
gas diesel
calendar year

Figure 2. Average Annual Costs for the Purchase of Petroleum in Vermont by

Calendar Year
Source: DPS Fuel Price Report and Joint Fiscal Office.

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2. Automobiles

2a. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in Vermont

Vehicle miles traveled per person declined between 2004 and 2006.

Table 3. Average Annual VMT by Calendar Year

2004 2005 2006
VMT 7,717.2 mil 7,611.3 mil 7,688.4
Source: VTrans Highway Research, Division of Policy & Planning.

2b. Emissions data

About 20 lbs of CO2 is produced for every gallon of gasoline consumed (Vermont
Agency of Natural Resources, Air Pollution Division).

Figure 3. Emissions data

Source: Governor’s Commission on Climate Change: Inventory and Forecast (Retrieved

June 2007)

2c. Vehicle Numbers

Vehicle registrations and licenses both increased between 2004 and 2005. Registrations
increased more than licenses issued, which in turn increased more than the Vermont
population, suggesting that more vehicles were bought than new drivers were added to
the population. Data is not yet available for 2006.

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Table 4. Vehicle Registrations and Drivers Licenses in Vermont by Calendar Year
2004 2005 2006
Registrations* 606,807 614,552 n/a
Licenses 556,821 561,338 n/a
Vermont Population 620,795 622,387 623,908
*Registrations include state vehicles, municipal vehicles, trucks, and autos. Does not
include buses, agricultural vehicles dealers, handicap placards, motorcycles, or trailers.
Source: Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, U.S. Census Bureau Annual Population
Estimates.

Nearly 36,000 vehicles were purchased in 2006 in Vermont. Of these, most were
gasoline-powered vehicles (94%). Only 2% were diesel. Of note is that over 900 vehicles
which can be run on either ethanol or gas (“flex fuel”) were purchased in the state,
although ethanol is not commercially available for fueling vehicles in Vermont.

Table 5. Used and New Vehicle Purchases in 2006 by Fuel Type

# sold % of total
Fuel (used & new) sold
Gas 33,547 94%
Diesel 886 2%
Flex fuel (ethanol/gas) 939 3%
Hybrid 420 1%
Electric 5 <1%
natural gas 1 <1%
Total 35,798
Source: RL Polk report commissioned by the University Transportation Center
February, 2007

Of vehicles purchased, over 25% were smaller vehicles, over 40% were medium-sized,
and over 30% were larger vehicles.

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Table 6. Vehicle Purchases in 2006 by Size Class
# sold % of total
Size class (used & new) sold
1
Smallest 4,367 16%
2
Small 3,419 12%
3
Medium 11,143 41%
Large4 7,737 28%
Largest5 700 3%
1”
Smallest” includes size classes basic economy and entry level.
2
“Small” includes size classes basic luxury, basic sporty, and compact pickup
3
“Medium” includes size classes heavy duty station wagon, lower middle, mid luxury,
mid sporty, midsize pickup, mini sport utility, minivan (cargo), and minivan (passenger)
4”
Large” includes size classes full-size pickup, full-size van (cargo) prestige luxury,
prestige sporty, roadster, sport utility and traditional large.
5”
Largest” includes size class’ utility.
Source: RL Polk report commissioned by Clean Cities Vermont

Table 7. Number of Vehicles per household in 2006

# of vehicles Households with
# of vehicles
0 3%
1 24%
2 45%
3 17%
4+ 11%
Avg # people/household 2.6
Avg # vehicles/household 3.9
Source: Center for Rural Studies: Vermonter Poll

3. Alternatives to the Traditional Automobile

3a. State spending on Transportation 3
The State of Vermont’s overall transportation budget increased between 2004 and 2006.
Certain increases within that budget promote strategies and physical infrastructures that
reduce petroleum dependence and reliance on single occupancy vehicles (SOV).
Spending for alternatives decreased from fiscal years 2004 to 2005 and then increased
slightly in 2006. The table below includes selected traditional transportation spending
items for comparison and line items for categories that may reduce reliance on SOV.

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Spending on public transit has remained constant. Spending has decreased for pedestrian
and bicycle facilities and rail, and increased for park and ride facilities.

Table 8. Total Spent by Fiscal year 4

Budget line items* FY 2004 FY2005 FY2006
Paving +maintenance 24% 24% 29%
Roadway 7% 19% 14%
Bridges (including maintenance of) 6% 8% 9%
Town Programs 17% 15% 15%
Finance, Planning, DMV 10% 11% 11%
Public transit 4% 4% 4%
Ped & bike 2% 1% 1%
Park & ride <1% 1% 1%
Multi-modal <1% <1% <1%
Rail 4% 3% 3%
Total transportation budget $345 million $359 million $371 million

% spent on alternatives 10.4% 8.4% 9.0%

*Items in bold within the table are considered line items for alternatives to the SOV.
Source: Joint Fiscal Office

3b. Bus Ridership

Public transit ridership increased between 2005 and 2006.

Table 9. Bus Ridership in Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006.

FY 05 FY 06 % Increase
Total 3,757,248 3,923,502 9.3%

3c. Alternative Fuel Vehicles

In 2006 there were a total of 2,677 known alternative fuel vehicles in the state. Data for
all fuel categories except for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) were obtained via phone
survey of fleets. The survey may not have covered all fleets or vehicle owners. Data for
HEVs was obtained from the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. The data for
biodiesel has an unknown, but probably significant, margin of error, due to the fact that
any diesel vehicle can use biodiesel without any authorities being aware of it. Vehicles
which run on recycled vegetable oil (also known as ‘grease’) are not characterized below
because it is not a reported fuel type and typically used by private vehicle owners.

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Table 10. Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) in 2006
Fuel type Vehicle type # in the state
B100 (100% Biodiesel) Light-Duty 0
B20 (20% Biodiesel) Light-Duty 38
B20 (20% Biodiesel) Heavy-Duty 101
Electricity Light-Duty 4
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Light-Duty 13
NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) Light-Duty 9
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Heavy-Duty 107
CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) Light-Duty 8
CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) Heavy-Duty 6
Plug-in Hybrid Light-Duty 1
H2 (Hydrogen) Light-Duty 1
HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) Light-Duty 2,389
Total 2,677
Source: Vermont Clean Cities Coalition: Annual Alternative Fuel Vehicle Fleet Survey
(conducted in January 2007), except for HEV data from Vermont DMV 5 .

3d. Inducements to Drive Less

Vermonters expressing a willingness to try alternatives to the automobile have steadily
increased according to public opinion surveys. In a 2000 VTrans survey, two thirds of the
Vermonters polled said there were no actions that would cause them to drive less. In a
matching 2006 survey of 600 Vermonters also coordinated by VTrans, the number of
Vermonters who said there were no actions that would cause them to drive less had
dropped to 37 percent. Alternatives mentioned included 22 percent said better public
transit and 7 percent mentioned commuter rail, for a total of 29 percent transit. Another
17 percent mentioned higher gasoline taxes.

In 2007, The University Transportation Center commissioned the Center for Rural
Studies to include survey questions related to transportation alternatives in their annual
Vermonter Poll. Five hundred sixty-five households were asked what actions,
circumstances, or transportation alternatives might encourage them to drive their car less.
The highest number of people responded that they would drive less if public
transportation were improved. Out of the available choices, the least number of people
indicated that increased gas prices would encourage them to drive less.

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Table 11. Inducements to drive less
Option %
respondents
Improved Public
34%
Transportation

Alternative Forms of
15%
Transportation

Increased Gas Prices 11%

OTHER 15%

Don’t know/nothing 26%

Source: Center for Rural Studies: Vermonter Poll, February, 2007

4. Fuel Economy
4a. Most Efficient New Vehicles Available in 2007
Dealerships typically have available each Model Year (MY) from its release in the fall or
winter of the previous calendar year (CY) until the end of the MY. For example in 2006,
new MY 2006 vehicles were available most of the CY and MY 2007 vehicles became
available in the last quarter of the CY. Also, MY vehicles tend to sell out by the end of
their CY, such that there were probably no MY 2005 vehicles sold from dealerships in
CY 2006.
The top three most fuel efficient vehicles of MY 2006 were hybrids. The fourth most fuel
efficient vehicle was a diesel car, which cannot be purchased new in Vermont. Of the ten
most efficient, 7 were cars and 2 were hybrid SUVs.
The top four most fuel efficient vehicles of MY 2007 were hybrids, including a sports
utility vehicle (SUV). Of the ten most efficient, 8 were cars and 2 were hybrid SUVs.
Purchases of all of these top-ranked fuel-efficient new vehicles available for sale in 2006
(i.e. MY 2006 and 2007) comprised 6.6 percent of the total new vehicle sales in Vermont
in 2006 (source: RL Polk report commissioned by Vermont Clean Cities Coalition).

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Table 12. Top Ten Most Efficient New Vehicles Available in 2006 (MY 2006 and
2007)
Rank Vehicle City/ Type Rank Vehicle City/Hw Type
2006 Hwy 2007 y MPG
MPG
1 Honda Insight 60/66 car 1 Toyota Prius 60/51 car
(hybrid) (hybrid)
2 Toyota Prius 60/51 car 2 Honda Civic 49/51 car
(hybrid) Hybrid
3 Honda Civic 49/51 car 3 Toyota Camry 40/38 car
Hybrid Hybrid
4 Volkswagen Golf/ 37/44 car 4 Ford Escape 36/31 SUV
New Beetle TDI* Hybrid
5 Volkswagen Jetta 36/41 car 5 Toyota Yaris 34/40 car
6 Ford Escape Hybrid 36/31 SUV 6 Honda Fit 33/38 car
7 Mercury Mariner 33/29 SUV 7 Toyota Corolla 32/41 car
Hybrid
8 Lexus RX 400h 33/28 SUV 8 Mini Cooper 32/40 car
(hybrid)
8 Toyota Highlander 33/28 truck 9 Hyundai Accent 32/35 car
Hybrid
9 Toyota Corolla 32/41 car 9
Kia Rio 32/35 car
10 Scion xA 32/37 car 10
Mercury Mariner 32/29 SUV
Hybrid
*Both the Volkswagen Golf and New Beetle TDI are diesel vehicles.
Source: Edmunds.com. Mileage is given for base models and manual transmission where
available.

4b. Transportation Demand Management

Way to Go! is an annual week-long program which markets alternatives to SOV to
Vermont commuters and schoolchildren. Participation is voluntary and results are
tabulated for registrants, but not verified. There has been a steady increase in program
participation between 2005 and 2007.

Table 13. Way to Go results

2005 2006 2007
# registrants 628 1,175 1,880
total gas gallons saved 2,437 3,780 12,385
Source: Way to Go!

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5. Activities
Many activities were undertaken in 2006 that would reduce petroleum consumption from
transportation but do not collect petroleum data, or are geared to future reductions. Some
of these efforts are summarized below.
5a. State Policies
The Vermont State Government affected transportation energy in 2006 on a few fronts.
The Vermont legislature passed legislation in the spring 2007 session which has the
effect of reducing petroleum consumption from transportation. Act 48 prohibits the idling
of school bus engines on school property and encourages schools to enact policies to
reduce idling by other vehicles on school grounds as well.

Safe Routes to Schools is a federal program administered by states, intended to benefit

children in primary and middle schools. It includes evaluation of existing conditions and
attitudes and activities to encourage schoolchildren to walk and bike to school on a
regular basis. In 2006 and 2007 the number of participating schools was increased to 28.

Table 13. Schools Participating in Safe Routes to Schools Programs by Region

Region # of schools
Addison County Regional Commission 3
Bennington County Regional Commission 1
Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization 7
Central VT Regional Planning Commission 4
Lamoille County Planning Commission 1
Northwest Regional Planning Commission 2
Northeast VT Development Association 2
Rutland Regional Planning Commission 2
Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission 1
Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission 2
Windham Regional Commission 3
total # schools participating 28
Source: Vermont Safe Routes to School

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State Planning Initiatives
There are a number of state planning initiatives related to petroleum consumption and
transportation.

Table 14. State Planning Initiatives Related To Transportation

Planning Initiative Lead Expected Last Plan Contact
Agency Completion Completed
Date
Vermont Comprehensive DPS Fall 2007 July, 1998 Riley Allen
Energy Plan
Vermont Long Range VTrans May 2008 Jan., 2002 Scott Bascom
Transportation Plan
Climate Change Action Plan ANR Dec. 2007 n/a Harold
Garabedian
Climate Neutral Working Group ANR none April, 2007 Jeff Merrell

Source: Snelling Center

Non-profit sector activities

See the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition eNewsletter archive.
1
Includes biodiesel blends and B100 volumes.
2
Data is available on a monthly basis per distributor. Gasoline sales include any gasoline sale in
Vermont, while diesel purchases for non-road applications exempt from the tax are not included.
These reports are used to levy the fuel tax, (26 cents per gallon for diesel and 20 cents per gallon
for gasoline (DMV Commercial Vehicle Department and DMV Auditor Doug Bessette.)
3
This data is actual spending, not authorized amounts.
4
The state fiscal year (SFY) runs from July 1 to June 30.
5
DMV data was cross-checked with RL Polk data (see Table 8)

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