Climate Change in Montana

Climate Change & Transportation

Personal Transportation

The average number of miles driven over the course of a year by Montanans is considered near the national average – about 12,000 per registered vehicle. The total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in Montana in 2005 was more than 11 billion. According to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics for 2005, Montanans registered 295,000 pickups, 55,000 vans, and 123,000 SUVs. Total registration is about one million vehicles. These vehicles were driven by 715,500 licensed drivers. The data shows this ratio of vehicles to people is among the highest the country. In 2005, 455,000 Montana workers traveled an average 17 minutes per day to their workplaces. About 75 percent of them commuted alone in cars, trucks, or vans.

AA Garage

Spot checks along Interstate 90 indicate that – at least seasonally – as much as 40 percent of traffic originates out of state. Out-of-state visitation to Montana is highly desirable from an economic standpoint. Many arrive by personal vehicles from Washington, Colorado, and Utah, as well as other states. In 2005, about 450,000 personal vehicles crossed into Montana at various ports of entry from Canada.

Fuels
Montanans burn roughly 500 million gallons of highway-taxed gasoline per year. Based on tax revenues, the Montana Department of Transportation estimates about 6 percent of the fuel sold is ethanol blended gasoline – about 30 million gallons. Less than 4 million gallons of ethanol is used in the blends per year. Montana currently has no commercial-scale ethanol production, so all ethanol is imported. The city of Missoula has a winter oxygenated fuel season. An 8 percent ethanol blend is mandated to reduce carbon monoxide emissions. An estimated 65 to 80 percent of all ethanol blended fuels in Montana is sold in Missoula.