[UFO Chicago] That transportation subject again...

[Ian Bicking]

I was just reading something about skytran (skytran.net), and it had
this handy little table I thought I'd share:


Heat energy per passenger mile:

Light Rail:      1.671
Diesel Bus:      0.917
Auto*:           1.251
Electric Car **: 1.2439 
SkyTran:         0.1553

*Auto assumes 20 mpg, 128,000 BTU per gallon

**Based on EV1 data of 72.5 miles per 18.7 kWhr charge with 65% battery
efficiency


My hunch was right, I guess, that trains take a lot of energy, as do
electric cars.  The source for these calculations unfortunately is in
some journal that's not online, but I'm pretty sure these take into
account average occupancy (e.g., 1.1 passengers for autos).  Buses are
more efficient than I would have thought.

  Ian