2.Transport energy consumption

Transport energy consumption :
1.Transport forms a key part of our everyday lives, the products that we buy are often transported over
long distances and the use of transport provides greater opportunity for personal travel than would
exist in its absence. Transport energy consumption has increased by 95 per cent since 1970 and by 13
per cent since 1990. In 2001 54,932 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent were consumed in the
transport sector, three quarters of which was consumed for road transport. Chart 2.1 shows the
increases in energy consumption by the transport sector over time and shows the increasing amount
consumed for air transport, accounting for 21 per cent of all energy consumed in the transport sector
in 2001. Between 1990 and 2001, energy consumption increased by 56 per cent in the air transport
sector, by 8 per cent in the rail transport sector and by 7 per cent in the road transport sector.
2.Transport can be considered in two ways, in terms of people (passengers) and in terms of goods
(freight). While it is difficult to split rail, water and air transport into clear breakdowns of passenger
and freight, it is more straightforward to calculate a breakdown for road transport. Of the 41,451
thousand tonnes of oil equivalent consumed for road transport in 2001, it is estimated that 66 per
cent was from road passengers and 34 per cent from road freight. Since 1990, road freight energy
consumption has increased by 17 per cent whereas road passenger energy consumption has
increased by just 1 per cent.
3.transport energy consumption by different types of road vehicle in 2000.
Between 1990 and 2000, energy consumption increased by 1 per cent for cars, by 26 per cent for
light goods vehicles and by 14 per cent for heavy goods vehicles
4.The transport sector is fundamentally different to the other sectors covered in this publication since
demand for transport does not come from the transport sector itself. Transport is used to support
activities in the industrial, service and domestic sectors. To show which sectors are responsible for
consuming energy for transport use, an analysis to re-allocate transport energy consumption to
the individual sectors has been carried out and the details of the methodology used can be found
in the methodological annex.in 2000 60 per cent of all transport energy
demand was from the domestic sector, 24 per cent from the industrial sector, and 15 per cent from
the service sector.
Increased demand for travel :
5.Energy consumption by air transport has increased due to improvements in airline design and
technology, the continued growth of trade, and the rise in leisure travel over the last thirty years.There has been a 73 per cent growth between 1990 and 2000 in total passengers
lifted by United Kingdom airlines, while total air transport movements, combining take-offs and
landings, by United Kingdom airlines have increased by 40 per cent. The average distance travelled
on UK airlines on international flights was 2,564 kilometres per air traveller in 1990 and 2,959
kilometres per air traveller in 2000, a rise of 15 per cent. Although larger, more efficient aircraft are
now used, occupancy rates have remained between 74 and 79 per cent since 1990.
6.The change in the amount of freight moved, measured in tonne-kilometres, is shown in Chart 2.6.
A total of 220 billion tonne-kilometres of freight were moved by road, rail, air and pipeline in 2000,
half of which were met by road. Between 1970 and 2000 the amount of freight moved by road rose
by 86 per cent. The increase has been driven by increased economic activity (GDP rose by 98 per cent
between 1970 and 2000), and has been enabled by an improved road network that can accommodate
larger and heavier vehicles. The number of articulated trucks over 33 tonnes rose from 63,000 in
1991 to 91,000 in 2001.
Changes in energy intensity :
Energy consumption can be measured in relation to distance travelled and load carried to provide a
measure of energy intensity. For road transport this would be measured as energy consumption per
passenger-kilometre or freight tonne-kilometre. Road freight needs to be treated differently to road
passenger travel since the weight carried will have an impact on the amount of energy consumed.
Since it is difficult to weight the two measures together they are considered separately. Air transport
energy intensity can be measured as energy consumption per air passenger-kilometre.road passenger, road freight and air transport energy intensities have changed since
1970. While the largest increase has been for road freight, most of the increase mainly occurred
during the 1980s when energy consumption increased at a higher rate than the number of freighttonne
kilometres travelled. Road freight energy intensity has increased by 4 per cent since 1990.
Energy intensity in the road passenger sub-sector has fallen by 2 per cent since 1990, as energy
consumption has not increased in line with distances travelled due to improvements in fuel
efficiencies and vehicle technology, despite demand for improved safety features, power steering
and air conditioning that have resulted in heavier vehicles.