Fact #667: March 21, 2011
Fuel Wasted in Traffic Congestion
The researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute have recently published new estimates of the effects of traffic congestion. The trend toward increased congestion eased in 2007 and 2008 with the downturn in the economy but began to rise again in 2009 along with economic activity. In 2009, nearly 4 billion gallons of fuel were wasted due to traffic congestion; up 160 million gallons from 2008 but still lower than the peak of 4.4 billion gallons wasted in 2006.
Total Fuel Wasted Due to Congestion, 1982-2009
Supporting Information
| Year | Fuel Wasted (Billion gallons) | Year | Fuel Wasted (Billion gallons) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 0.73 | 1996 | 2.53 | |
| 1983 | 0.80 | 1997 | 2.68 | |
| 1984 | 0.88 | 1998 | 2.81 | |
| 1985 | 1.03 | 1999 | 3.01 | |
| 1986 | 1.20 | 2000 | 3.15 | |
| 1987 | 1.35 | 2001 | 3.31 | |
| 1988 | 1.56 | 2002 | 3.51 | |
| 1989 | 1.73 | 2003 | 3.72 | |
| 1990 | 1.84 | 2004 | 3.95 | |
| 1991 | 1.90 | 2005 | 4.15 | |
| 1992 | 2.01 | 2006 | 4.19 | |
| 1993 | 2.11 | 2007 | 4.14 | |
| 1994 | 2.19 | 2008 | 3.77 | |
| 1995 | 2.37 | 2009 | 3.93 | |
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Source: Texas Transportation Institute, 2010 Urban Mobility Report, December 2010. |
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