GASOLINE CONSUMPTION IN URBAN TRAFFIC

A linear relation between fuel consumption per unit distance phi and trip time per unit distance t phi = k1 + k2t, has been shown to adequately explain fuel consumption for different drivers driving normally in urban traffic. In the present study, the applicability of this relation to a wider range of drivers, traffic, driver motivations, ambient temperatures, and vehicles is experimentally investigated. The effect of different driver instructions is studied. For example, drivers instructed to minimize trip time experienced higher fuel consumption than predicted by the linear relation, while those who drove slower than the traffic generally consumed less fuel. The parameters k1 and k2 obtained for different vehicles are approximately proportional to vehicle mass and idle fuel flow rate respectively; therefore, fuel consumption in urban traffic can be preconsumed because of cold starts is determined as a function of trip length for different ambient temperatures. These data are combined with data on the dependence of commuting trip speed on trip length to show that the fuel consumed in commuting trips increases substantially less rapidly than trip distance.

Media Info

  • Media Type: Print
  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: pp 25-30
  • Monograph Title: Transportation programming, economic analysis, and evaluation of energy constraints
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00148663
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309025680
  • Report/Paper Numbers: HS-020 305
  • Files: HSL, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
  • Created Date: Mar 15 1983 12:00AM