Assessing Impacts of Rising Fuel Prices on Rural Native Americans

Rising fuel prices have a greater relative impact on rural residents, based on the premise that rural incomes are lower than urban incomes and that rural residents travel more miles via personal vehicle each year than city dwellers. Given the fact that many Indian reservations are extremely rural and have some of the lowest income levels in the nation, it seems logical to assume that Native Americans in rural areas may be among the most impacted by rising fuel prices. This paper tests this hypothesis. The New York Times reported on June 9, 2008, that rural residents are impacted more by rising gasoline prices than their urban counterparts. The reasons for the differential are lower rural income levels and longer commute distances. The article noted that while urban dwellers may spend 4% or less of their income on gasoline, some rural residents reportedly spend over 13% of their income on motor fuel (Krauss 2008). A primary source of the New York Times report was a “Pain At The Pump” study conducted by the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), a fuel analysis firm based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. OPIS collects weekly fuel price data that is used and disseminated by the American Automobile Association (AAA). OPIS used state-level per capita vehicle miles traveled data compiled by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2004 county-level household income data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, and local fuel prices to determine what percentage of household incomes are spent on motor fuel (Atkins 2008). This study will review comparable, updated, and more specific data for rural counties that are comprised of at least 25% Native Americans. These counties will be compared with national averages, the states that the highly Native counties are located in, and select urban areas of the country. This comparison will also include some of the highly impacted counties identified in the OPIS report.

• Record URL:
  http://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=609
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

  Small Urban and Rural Transit Center, North Dakota State University, P.O. Box 6050
  Fargo, ND  United States  58108-6050

  Federal Transit Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Mielke, Jon
  • Mattson, Jeremy
  • Ripplinger, David
• Publication Date: 2008-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 39p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economic impacts; Low income groups; Motor fuels; Native Americans; Prices; Rural areas; Trip length
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01472432
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 19 2013 8:46AM