Austrian drivers used less petrol

Austrian drivers used seven per cent less petrol in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, Austrian Times.
The Austrian Traffic Club (VCÖ) said today (Mon) Austrians had used 150 million fewer litres of auto fuel and paid 600 million fewer Euros for it in the first quarter.
VCÖ attributed the decline in consumption to less truck traffic, cheaper fuel and less driving by car owners. The club said the number of trucks crossing the Brenner Pass between Austria and Italy had declined by a third during the first three months of 2009.
The club added that 50 litres of fuel cost 15 fewer Euros on average than a year ago, meaning the price of fuel had gone down by 25 per cent in the last year.
Diesel-fuel, which cost 1.25 Euros a litre at Easter last year, costs 0.95 Euro, and Eurosuper, which cost 1.24 Euros a litre last year, costs 0.96 at present.
Although the fall in price had benefited all drivers, 60 per cent of Austrians with the lowest incomes did not own cars and depended on public transport, the club noted.
VCÖ said it was therefore necessary to expand the public-transport network to ensure that those Austrians retained their mobility. The club called for 10 per cent of revenue from auto-fuel taxes to be used to expand bus and rail networks.
Lower-fuel prices aren’t the only factor that may help persuade some drivers to buy new cars. The government’s 1,500-Euro bonus for the junking of cars at least 13 years old that went into effect on 1 April is also helping do so.
Austrian car club Arbö said that day there had been a storm of applications for the bonus.
The club added the large number of applications might have been the consequence of fear of winding up empty-handed. The bonus will be available only for 30,000 cars and run only until 31 December 2009. The club said the government had provided 45 million Euros for the initiative, which would effectively end when the money ran out.
Club official Thomas Woitsch said today: "Whoever orders a new car in August with the bonus in mind may have to wait several months for it to be delivered, and that may be too late for a bonus."
A spokesman at TÜV Österreich (accredited provider of certifications of various sorts) warned consumers not to be mesmerised by the bonus.
The spokesman said many cars older than 13 years were worth more than 1,500 Euros and the traditional way of junking old cars might fetch more than that amount.
The federal government will provide 750 Euros of the 1,500-Euro bonus, auto importers 500 Euros and auto dealers 250 Euros. Companies, such as leasing firms, will not qualify for bonuses.
 

Source: Transportweekly