Transportation
Physics 1303
4/14/03
References/Links
USDOE: EERE
Federal Highway Administration
Energy Information Agency
National Household Travel Survey
Our Nation’s Highways 2000
DART
Outline
Car and Driver
Efficiency
Mass Transit
Urban Planning
New Technologies
Car and Driver
210 million cars and
light trucks
191 million licensed
drivers
140 billion gallons
gasoline/year
2.7 trillion vehicle
miles
Transportation is a major
household expense
American life depends on cars
Private vehicles are the dominant
mode of transportation in the US
Most workers ride to work
alone.
Men drive more.
Another Lame Joke
Stop and do Calculations!
Carbon Emissions
Automobiles add 1.3 billion metric tons of
CO2 to atmosphere annually.
Efficiency of cars is 20 miles/gallon
Drivers travel 14,000 miles annually
How do we reduce CO2 emission?
Reduce Driving
Mass Transit
Urban Planning
Mass Transit
DART
VIA Transit
BART
Mexico City
Urban Planning
Curitiba, Brazil
Portland, Oregon.
New Technologies
Electric Cars
Hybrid Cars
Fuel Cells
Internal Combustion Engine
Engine – 20% efficient
Highway driving –
Energy lost to air drag.
City driving – Energy
lost during braking
Electric Car
Batteries are heavy and
limit range to 100
miles.
Energy to charge
electric vehicles comes
from power plants.
Not a practical
solution.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles
HEV Program
Honda Insight
Honda Civic
Toyota Prius
50 mpg
Fuel Cells
Freedom Car
Fuel Cells are in
development stage.
Hydrogen economy
Conclusions
Best option seems to be
combination of mass
transit, urban planning,
and hybrid electric
vehicles.