Urban Impacts of Mobile Fuel Delivery Service

Abstract

Mobile fuel delivery (MFD) uses a fueling truck to fill up personal and commercial fleet vehicles while they are parked overnight. This study used a sample data set provided by a San Francisco Bay Area company to explore the potential impacts on vehicle miles traveled (VMT), carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and traffic congestion. An analysis of vehicle travel associated with gas station trips was conducted to establish a basis for comparison. Future scenarios comparing the potential impacts of scaled-up MFD services in 2030 were also developed. The study concluded that MFD services compared favorably to gas stations in relation to environmental and traffic benefits in the longer term, even though personal fueling trips tended to generate low VMT. Benefits stemmed from efficiencies achieved by fueling multiple vehicles per delivery trip, replacing car share vehicle fueling trips, and removing trips from the network during peak hours. This analysis estimated that total annual CO2 emissions associated with fuel delivery operations in the Bay Area were 76 metric tons, which is less than a typical gas station with 97 metric tons. Under assumptions of declining demand for gasoline and significantly fewer gas stations, and with highly efficient optimized operations, mobile delivery could gain up to 5% market share for gas and not add additional VMT over the business as usual scenario.