Road vehicle-kilometres travelled estimated from state/territory fuel sales

In Australia, the volume of motor vehicle traffic is expressed as vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT). Estimates of VKT are used extensively in transport planning for allocating resources, estimating vehicle emissions, computing energy consumption, assessing traffic impact and road safety policy. Therefore, it is critical to have an accurate timely estimation of VKT. This paper describes an approach for estimating quarterly VKT by vehicle type by fuel type from the state/territory fuel sales data for all eight states/territories in Australia. Quarterly estimates cover the period March 1965 to June 2010. It also produces estimates of quarterly VKT on capital city roads. The motor vehicle types used were cars, motor cycles, light commercial vehicles (LCVs), rigid trucks, articulated trucks and buses, while three different types of fuel were considered, (petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)). There are several potential uses for the data. First, the data can be used in time-series analyses of concepts of interest to policymakers. Secondly, the fuel intensity series derived in the study can be used to examine questions about trends in the energy intensity of the transport sector over the long-term. Thirdly, it can be used to benchmark policy decisions about road funding allocations based on traffic trends.