Vulnerability to motor fuel price increases: Socio-spatial patterns in England

In high-motorisation, car-dependent countries, transport affordability is intimately linked to the price of oil derived motor fuels, which may become increasingly volatile in the future due to global oil price movements and environmental taxation. The negative impacts of fuel price spikes in terms of increased household expenditure and economic stress are unevenly spatially and socially distributed. Previous research has found that vulnerability to fuel price increases is higher in peripheral, peri-urban and rural areas, and that low income tends to be co-located with high car dependence and low vehicle fuel efficiency, with a compounding effect on vulnerability. The goal of this article is to test these hypotheses for England, providing new evidence on spatial patterns of vulnerability to fuel price increases at the small-area level. The authors propose a composite vulnerability indicator combining data on income, accessibility, vehicle inspection and vehicle registration for 2011. Within English city-regions, they find little evidence of the socially regressive patterns previously identified in the literature. This is explained by the persistent concentration of poverty in urban cores, as well as by the poor fuel economy of the vehicle fleet in wealthier areas, due to the prevalence of powerful vehicles there. On the other hand, the authors' analysis suggests that the impacts of fuel price increases would be very unequal between city-regions, as the least sensitive metropolitan area (Greater London) is also characterised by high levels of adaptive capacity. The authors conclude by setting out an agenda for future research on spatial vulnerability to fuel price increases.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2019.05.009
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692318308767
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/09666923
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2019 Giulio Mattioli et al. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Mattioli, Giulio
  • 0000-0003-1309-554X
  • Philips, Ian
  • Anable, Jillian
  • 0000-0002-4259-1641
  • Chatterton, Tim
  • 0000-0001-5592-1569
• Publication Date: 2019-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 98-114
• Serial:
  • Journal of Transport Geography
  • Volume: 78
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0966-6923
  • Serial URL: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jtrangeo

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile travel; Economic impacts; Expenditures; Households; Income; Low income groups; Motor fuels; Prices; Socioeconomic factors
• Uncontrolled Terms: Automobile dependence; Fuel prices; Spatial patterns
• Geographic Terms: England
• Subject Areas: Economics; Energy; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01712014
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 22 2019 8:00PM