Utah drivers cut gasoline use by 20% in a decade

Are you eating 20 percent less than a decade ago? How about using 20 percent less water? Are you buying 20 percent fewer clothes? Are you living in a home that is 20 percent smaller?

Well, Utahns did manage to use 20 percent less gasoline per resident last year compared to their consumption a decade earlier, according to a Deseret News analysis of federal and state data.

Of course, they had a big reason to cut so deep: Gasoline prices have almost tripled since 1997.

Back in the halcyon days of 1997, gasoline prices averaged a mere $1.33 a gallon for the year in Utah. And back then, Utahns consumed an average 1.43 gallons of gasoline per resident per day for their vehicles.

Ten years later in 2007, Utahns used 1.14 gallons of gasoline per person a day — a 20 percent reduction. For that year, gasoline averaged $2.75 a gallon in Utah (but AAA reported on Wednesday that the average price for regular-grade gasoline here has now risen to $3.63 a gallon).

The Deseret News computed that drop in consumption per person based on annual statewide retail gasoline sales data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, combined with annual state population estimates.

Transportation industry officials say the reduction likely comes for many reasons, including that newer cars have improved mileage; sales increase for cars that offer the best mileage when gas prices rise; more people are using mass transit; and people simply drive less as gasoline prices climb.

"Cars are far more fuel-efficient than they were. That has to account for much of the reduction," said Rolayne Fairclough, spokeswoman for AAA Utah.

For example, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that for all 1997 model cars and trucks sold in America, their average mileage per gallon was 24.5. For all 2007 models, it had risen to 25.3 miles per gallon — an increase of 3.3 percent. Consumption drops as more efficient cars replace older models.

Also as gasoline prices rise, people start looking to buy those vehicles with the best overall mileage instead of bigger gas-guzzlers.

"Whenever we get a spike in the gas prices, we have a lot of people try to trade out trucks and SUVs for smaller vehicles," said Tim Dahle, who owns three local car dealerships. "The price of gas and uncertainty (about whether prices will fall again) plays part of that psychology."