Fact #370: May 2, 2005
How the Price of Gasoline Relates to Vehicle Miles Traveled
The price of gasoline is one factor that can have an effect on the number of highway vehicle miles traveled (VMT). The graph below shows a three-month moving average of the percentage change of monthly data from one year to the next (i.e., February 2001 data were compared with February 2000 data). Analysis on the data indicates that about one-third of the variability of VMT from 2001 to 2004 can be explained by the variability in gas prices.
Vehicle Travel and Gasoline Price (Three-Month Moving Average of the Percent Change from Previous Year's Monthly Total and Average)
Supporting Information
| Month | Gasoline Price |
Vehicle Miles Traveled |
|---|---|---|
| Feb-01 | 5.1% | 0.9% |
| Mar-01 | 2.1% | 0.4% |
| Apr-01 | 4.4% | 0.6% |
| May-01 | 6.9% | 0.7% |
| Jun-01 | 3.3% | 0.7% |
| Jul-01 | -3.7% | 1.0% |
| Aug-01 | -5.2% | 0.6% |
| Sep-01 | -7.1% | 0.6% |
| Oct-01 | -11.5% | 1.1% |
| Nov-01 | -18.5% | 3.0% |
| Dec-01 | -21.8% | 3.5% |
| Jan-02 | -23.5% | 4.0% |
| Feb-02 | -20.2% | 3.2% |
| Mar-02 | -16.0% | 2.9% |
| Apr-02 | -14.0% | 2.5% |
| May-02 | -14.1% | 2.6% |
| Jun-02 | -12.3% | 2.8% |
| Jul-02 | -6.5% | 2.7% |
| Aug-02 | -4.0% | 3.1% |
| Sep-02 | -0.3% | 2.9% |
| Oct-02 | 4.6% | 2.2% |
| Nov-02 | 14.8% | 1.8% |
| Dec-02 | 22.4% | 1.4% |
| Jan-03 | 32.6% | 0.3% |
| Feb-03 | 38.5% | -0.4% |
| Mar-03 | 34.7% | -0.5% |
| Apr-03 | 22.4% | 0.6% |
| May-03 | 11.4% | 1.0% |
| Jun-03 | 8.1% | 1.4% |
| Jul-03 | 10.1% | 1.4% |
| Aug-03 | 14.6% | 1.4% |
| Sep-03 | 15.5% | 1.8% |
| Oct-03 | 12.7% | 2.2% |
| Nov-03 | 7.9% | 2.7% |
| Dec-03 | 7.1% | 1.7% |
| Jan-04 | 5.7% | 2.2% |
| Feb-04 | 3.7% | 2.7% |
| Mar-04 | 4.5% | 3.7% |
| Apr-04 | 13.9% | 2.5% |
| May-04 | 25.2% | 1.2% |
| Jun-04 | 30.8% | 0.2% |
| Jul-04 | 26.2% | 0.1% |
| Aug-04 | 17.7% | 0.2% |
| Sep-04 | 17.5% | -0.1% |
| Oct-04 | 22.3% | 0.6% |
| Nov-04 | 27.8% | 0.7% |
|
Source: VMT: U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Highway Policy Information, Traffic Volume Trends, Table 1. Gasoline Price: Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 9.2 | ||
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