Transport,travel and energy in the UK Trend analysis of published statistics

Transport is the only major sector where there has been an increase in energy consumption over the last 10 years. This article concentrates on the road and rail sectors and presents for the firts time an intermodal comparison of the trends on a time-series basis. The underlying reasons are explored and some of the complex interactions between individual factors highlighted. Several options for reducing energy consumption in the transport sector are proposed. Given the efficacy of oil for transport, there is only a limited opportunity for improvements in the existing stock of vehicles (through measures such as increases in car occupancy) and technological improvements offer the best alternative.