Quote:
Originally Posted by chris08876
In Europe, does the high cost of gas deter people from getting cars or does everyone just switch to diesel? Every time I'm there, I rarely see a gas car. Always diesel? Is there a reason gas is so expensive there versus the U.S.?
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford
Both gas and cars and much more expensive in Europe than in the U.S. Salaries are also somewhat lower.
Combine that with much better transit and it's obvious why transit share is generally higher in Europe.
|
The reason gasoline is more expensive is simple, more tax. In the UK at the moment I'm paying £1.07 per litre which is $5.92 per US gallon. There is 20% VAT on fuel like most other products so without VAT it would be £0.89/litre ($4.93/US gallon), and then unlike most products there is a specific duty of £0.58/litre on both diesel and petrol, without that you are down to £0.31/litre ($1.74/US gallon). Many European countries tax diesel more lightly making it cheaper than gasoline which encourages people to buy diesel cars, in the UK both are taxed at the same rate and the split between diesel and petrol engined vehicles is roughly 50/50.
Europeans probably don't spend 3x as much on fuel though even if it is 3x as expensive, they choose more economical vehicles on average, either diesels or small-engine gasoline cars which can also get 50mpg+, the way cities are built means distances driven day to day are shorter and also intercity road trips to the next town or city are usually shorter than in most of North America.
I wouldn't exaggerate the differences in car ownership and usage between Western Europe and the US, in every West European country car use makes up the large majority of miles travelled, there are a few % more people living in dense urban environments where there are more practical options and owning a car can be a hassle but still the big majority of households in Western Europe own cars and don't live in places like central Paris/London or Venice.
I don't think cost of buying a car being more expensive than North America puts people off buying one if they need one although it may affect the choice of vehicle, you can buy a car to suit any budget, from £500 to £500,000 and in the rural areas where having a car is a necessity or at least it's a big inconvenience if you don't have one then virtually all households have a car, even the low income ones. As you get into more urban areas then low income households and others may well choose not to have a car as it's not such a necessity and the money saved can increase living standards by having more to spend elsewhere. Then when you get to the really urban areas owning a car can be more hassle than not owning one due to scarce parking, narrow streets, congestion etc.
Here's an interactive map of England & Wales showing figures on the % of households not owning a car by locality and the average number of cars per household, data from the 2011 census.
https://fusiontables.googleuserconte...mplt=2&hml=KML
As you can see in the most rural areas, even poorer ones, only 5-10% of households don't have a car, sometimes it's as low as 3-4% which is probably just elderly and other people unable to drive for physical/medical reasons, pretty much everybody else has at least one car in the household.
But move into even small towns and villages or suburbs of mid-sized towns and that often jumps up to 15-20% as walking/cycling to get around becomes more practical and there are better bus/train services for getting beyond the town people live in. Go into the centres of mid-sized towns and small cities and some more suburban areas of larger cities and you will commonly find neighbourhoods where 20-50% of households don't have cars as more and more stuff becomes accessible without a vehicle and parking/congestion starts to become an issue. Then go into the inner areas of the larger cities and you will find a lot of areas where 40-65% of households don't have cars, rising to 70% and even 80% in a few areas of Central London.
Prev
Linear Mode
