Low fuel prices are economically harmful overall; per capita economic productivity tends to increase with fuel prices, as illustrated here, because more expensive fuel increases transportation system efficiency. “The Mobility-Productivity Paradox” (www.vtpi.org/ITED_paradox.pdf).
These issues are discussed in my report, “Appropriate Response to Rising Fuel Prices” “Appropriate Response to Rising Fuel Prices” (www.vtpi.org/fuelprice.pdf), Professor David Levinson’s recent blog, “Transport Solutions to the Energy Crisis” (https://transportist.org/2026/03/30/transport-solutions-to-the-energy-crisis) and a report I co-wrote for the New Zealand Transportation Agency a few years ago, “Managing Transport Challenges When Oil Prices Rise (www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/research/reports/357/docs/357.pdf).
My report Roadway Costs, User Revenues and Cost Recovery Trends (https://vtpi.org/rcrt.pdf) shows that road user fees pay a declining portion of roadway expenses so more than half of these costs are subsidized by non-users, and my report, “The Mobility-Productivity Paradox” (www.vtpi.org/ITED_paradox.pdf) show that low fuel prices are economically harmful overall; per capita economic productivity tends to increase with fuel prices, as illustrated below, because more expensive fuel increases transportation system efficiency as discussed in my recent column, “The Future Belongs to the Efficient” (www.planetizen.com/blogs/136966-dear-trump-future-belongs-efficient).
Cheap fuel is economically harmful; productivity increases with fuel prices, illustrated here, because expensive fuel increases transport system efficiency. “Mobility-Productivity Paradox” (www.vtpi.org/ITED_paradox.pdf) and “Appropriate Response to Rising Fuel Prices” (www.vtpi.org/fuelprice.pdf).
