RECENT OBSERVATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF GASOLINE PRICE AND SUPPLY

This paper addresses the economic effects of the gasoline shortage of 1974 and the ensuing gasoline price increases. Further, the investigation covers what is commonly thought of as two separate markets: the work or peak-hour travel market and the off-peak or nonwork travel market. Observations were made at the six port authority vehicle crossings: the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels and the George Washington Bridge, which provide access across the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan, and the Bayonne and Goethals Bridges and Outerbridge Crossing which connect New Jersey and Staten Island. Traffic observations in the 6 months of 1974 showed that (a) traffic volumes declined much less in the second quarter of 1974 than in the first quarter; (b) weekend traffic was down much more than weekday traffic in the first quarter, whereas in the second quarter there was only a slight difference in weekday and week end declines; (c) the decline in weekday peak and off-peak traffic differed little in the first and second quarters; (d) the number of passengers per vehicle decreased in weekday off-peak hours and increased during some peak hours; (e) cross elasticity between automobile and transit modes was small but not zero; and (f) longer trips decreased more than short trips.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr153/153-023.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0360859X
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at the 7th Summer Mtg. of TRB in cooperation with Florida DOT, Jacksonville, Fla., Aug. 5-7, 1974. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board (TRB)

  Washington, DC   
• Authors:
  • Lessieu, Eugene J
  • Karvasarsky, Arnold
• Conference:
  • 7th Summer Meeting of the Transportation Research Board
  • Location: Jacksonville Florida, United States
  • Date: 1974-8-5 to 1974-8-7
• Publication Date: 1975

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 214-222
• Monograph Title: Better use of existing transportation facilities
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 153
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0360-859X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economic impacts; Fuels; Gasoline; Markets; Peak hour traffic; Prices; Supply; Traffic volume; Trip length; Vehicle occupancy; Weekdays; Weekends
• Old TRIS Terms: Fuel shortage
• Subject Areas: Economics; Energy; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00099513
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Nov 5 1975 12:00AM