Maps and Data

This chart shows average annual fuel use (per vehicle) for major vehicle categories in the United States. Measured in gasoline gallon equivalents (GGEs), representing a quantity of fuel with the same amount of energy contained in a gallon of gasoline. The two factors affecting the average annual fuel use of a vehicle are the average miles traveled per year (correlative) and the fuel economy of the vehicle (inversely correlative). Transit buses, which are relatively inefficient because of their stop-and-go drive cycles and heavy loads, consume more fuel on average than any other vehicle type. Class 8 trucks, which typically travel long distances carrying heavy loads, use the second-largest amount of fuel. Refuse trucks, like transit buses, are inefficient because of their heavy loads and stop-and-go drive cycles. The last four vehicle types are owned by individual consumers, and they each use a fraction of the fuel consumed by fleet-based vehicles, on a per-vehicle basis. See also Average Annual Vehicle Miles Traveled by Major Vehicle Category and Average Fuel Economy by Major Vehicle Category.

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