Biden shuns asking US consumers to drive less

President Joe Biden does not intend to call on US drivers to limit summer road trips as a way of taming record-high fuel prices, a split with European calls for its citizens to cut energy use.

High fuel prices across the US are already giving drivers enough of an incentive to cut back on unnecessary travel, Biden said. US gasoline and diesel prices today hit a record high average of $4.37/USG, according to travel group AAA, driven primarily by a recent surge in diesel prices.

"If you ever raise a family like mine, you do not have to tell them, they are doing everything in their power to figure out how not to have to show up at the gas pump," Biden said in a speech focused on his plans to address inflation that is at a 40-year high.

The number of miles driven in the US is on track to hit a record 9.6mn miles/d this June to September, according to the US Energy Information Administration's Short-Term Energy Outlook released today, a 2pc rise compared to last summer as more consumers resume travel they deferred when the pandemic struck. US gasoline demand this summer is expected to increase by 1pc to 9.3mn b/d, compared to last summer.

Biden instead said he would focus on working with the US Congress to enact a spending bill with "landmark investments" in clean energy through new tax credits, energy efficiency programs and business investments. The White House is trying to revive momentum on a bill with $550bn in clean energy spending that needs the support of US senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia). Biden also touted his decision in late March to draw down 1mn b/d of crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve over six months.

Past presidents have faced voter blowback for making efforts to limit driving. Former president Richard Nixon, during the 1973 Arab oil embargo, called for shared "sacrificing" through lower highway speeds and fewer flights. Former president Jimmy Carter faced declining approval ratings after he urged consumers in 1979 to drive less and carpool to address energy shortages at the time.

Biden's stance contrasts with one taken by the European Commission, which has worked with the IEA to call on citizens to follow measures that could cut Russian natural gas imports by a third and reduce EU oil use by 600,000 b/d. The plan calls for limiting personal vehicle use, lowering highway speeds, turning down heating and cooling, working from home and using public transport.

But public transportation options are not a viable alternative across large parts of the US, Biden said in his remarks today, since consumers depend on personal automobiles to get to work, school and travel. Last year's $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law will expand public transportation but will take time, Biden said.

"The truth is, they do not have many options in terms of transportation around the country right now," Biden said.

By Chris Knight