Gas Mileage Averages by Country

[frawin]

My guess is that we also  drive more miles per household than any other country.

Gas Mileage Averages by Country
In 2008, here are the average fuel efficiency numbers for different parts of the world
European Union: 43 miles per gallon
Japan: 42 miles per gallon
China: 35 miles per gallon
Australia: 33 miles per gallon
South Korea: 31 miles per gallon
Canada: 30 miles per gallon
United States: 25 miles per gallon

[srkruzich]

My guess is that we also  drive more miles per household than any other country.

Gas Mileage Averages by Country
In 2008, here are the average fuel efficiency numbers for different parts of the world
European Union: 43 miles per gallon
Japan: 42 miles per gallon
China: 35 miles per gallon
Australia: 33 miles per gallon
South Korea: 31 miles per gallon
Canada: 30 miles per gallon
United States: 25 miles per gallon

Well i know in europe, most folks don't drive like we do since each country is rather small.  Most folks are within a couple miles of a grocery store or something like that.
Also they use diesel more than gasoline.   Not sure why diesel isn't used more here.  You can't get the MPG out of gasoline with the current tech, and it has remained relatively the same over the last 60 years.   
Though i've seen some new tech that can improve that tremendously!

[frawin]

You are right Steve. I worked in London several times over the years and I had young people there that worked for me that told me they did not own a car and never expected to. There priority was food and housing. Many of the people in the Phillips offices in London rode the trains into the city. Many in the city walked or  rode the trains or buses.

[Diane Amberg]

Public transportation is commonly used all over Europe.  Home deliveries are much more common too. People in London walk a lot and they do walk fast! Tourist brochures would say something was a 10 minute walk away. HA! We had to learn to pick up the pace or get mowed down. We got photo transportation passes when we were in London, same kind the residents have and went every where for very little money and on Sundays one got extra zones for free.

[srkruzich]

And it would be impossible to implement what europe does here.  You have to have personal transportation to travel from city to city these days in most of the country. 

Cities like Atlanta, Dallas, Denver is not possible to do walking in the city as they are built spread too far out.  Public trans is not available in a lot of city areas and what is available isn't worth risking ones life to travel on.
Until they allow you to carry on a subway, I wouldn't step foot on one.

[evanstrail]

I can't speak on other mass transit systems since I haven't been on them, but I have ridden the Washington, DC Metro on multiple occasions and never felt like I was in any kind of danger.  It's fairly extensive, and if you reside a ways from a station, your hotel, apartment development, or homeowners association usually has a free, or very inexpensive, shuttle.  If not, there's the bus system.

Having so many government and military buildings as destinations, even if there isn't someone in uniform on the car with you, you never know who might be plain clothes military, FBI, etc.

[Roma Jean Turner]

Steve, the same can be said for Springfield and probably most places of any size in this country.  They have sprawled out and grown helter skelter because the only plan was for automobiles, no one was every thinking about the individual without a vehicle getting around.  Major streets in this community have no cohesive sidewalks.  The transit system is just illogical here for anyone who really needs to use it on a time schedule.  Yet they say, we don't have enough people using it to afford to expand it, but there never will be until a lot of people could use it without wasting hours of there time trying to get somewhere.  When money is spent trying to get walking/and/or bike trails...people complain that it is a waste of money.  Yet more and more of us are trying to walk and ride and at times taking our lives in our hands to do it.  Point being a lot of changes would have to be made to make our country and most cities user friendly to other forms of transportation than motor vehicles.

[Diane Amberg]

I too,have used the DC Metro system many times, especially the stops on and near the Mall. Having traveled all over this country, I have used the public bus systems in many big cities with no trouble. I don't go out really late, or I use a cab if I'm concerned. I used the bus system and cable cars in San Francisco and often would a catch a bus to somewhere interesting if Al had a conference. Seattle, Vancouver, Denver, Chicago, Boston, San Antonio, Honolulu, Philly and many, many more have very user friendly bus systems. In Denver the main shopping area is on 16th street and there are buses running up and down there constantly. If you read the old history of cars, trucks and the highway system, you'll find that public transportation was "killed" by  big money interests who wanted to support cars and trucks, which used fuel and oil.  Building then spread out away from the easy distances to bus and trolley stops and rail stations. It made the flight to the clean air suburbs possible, but also made huge piles of money for a few people. Now that trend may reverse. We're going back to Boston by train again in May. Different hotel this time, right near Boston Commons. I expect to take a bus to go shopping while Al is in his meetings. I'll tell you all if there are any security changes since last year. In June we'll be going to Baltimore for another conference. I may be able to walk to the Inner Harbor, if not I'll take a bus. I'd like to see the National Aquarium again.

[evanstrail]

What the transit user — usually a pedestrian — experiences is an automobile-dominated landscape that is far from the ideal transit-oriented development planners often argue is necessary to take full advantage of the millions spent on public transportation investments. Too many other Chicago neighborhoods, and many others around the country, suffer similar fates. It doesn't have to be so.

http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2011/03/02/stuck-in-the-land-of-missed-opportunity/