Washington ? Getting President Bush from here to there consumes an enormous amount of fuel, whether he’s aboard Air Force One, riding in a helicopter or on the ground in a heavily armored limousine. The bill gets steeper every day as the White House is rocked by the same energy prices as regular drivers.

Taxpayers still foot the bill.

Almost every vehicle Bush uses is custom-made to add security and communications capabilities, and the heavier weight of these guzzlers further drives up gas and jet fuel costs.

The White House declines to discuss travel costs related to the presidential entourage, and did not respond to a request for the overall effect of higher fuel prices on its budget.

It is not Bush’s choice to be ferried around in a less than fuel-efficient manner. Those arrangements are dictated by tradition and the Secret Service, whose mission is to protect him.

But Bush is one of the nation’s most-traveled presidents. He has visited 46 countries, some of them several times, during his presidency. He has been to all states except Vermont and Rhode Island.

President Bush's 2006 Cadillac presidential limousine is shown along the inaugural parade route in Washington in this Jan. 20 file photo. Taxpayers foot the rising fuel bills for Bush's travel; oil hit a record price of 8 a barrel on Wednesday.

About the only vehicle Bush has much say in is the 2001 white Ford F250 pickup he keeps on his Texas ranch. At the nationwide gasoline average of $2.61 a gallon, it would cost at least $75 to fill the Ford’s tank. The 1999 four-wheel-drive model gets 13 miles per gallon in the city, 17 on the highway, according to an Energy Department Web site, http://www.fueleconomy.gov.

Elsewhere, whether in Washington, Des Moines or Tbilisi, Bush is driven in a large motorcade. The typical presidential caravan has well over a dozen vehicles, including Bush’s limousine, a modified 2006 Cadillac DTS and an identical limo put in as a decoy.

Occasionally, Chevrolet Suburbans are used in place of the limos.

The motorcade generally doesn’t cruise placidly at fuel-efficient speeds, but rather hurries along its route as fast as possible. It also often idles outside while Bush is at an event, burning up fuel but ready to depart at a moment’s notice.

In the air, Bush most often flies on a Boeing 747-200B laden with, among other things, an anti-missile system. Like gas for cars, fuel costs for the largest plane in the Air Force One fleet have gone up dramatically – from $3,974 an hour in fiscal 2004 to $6,029 per hour now, according to the Air Force.

Reducing his appearances outside the White House and making other gestures toward fuel conservation could help cut down on costs.

But some suggest that could do more harm for national morale and Bush’s image than good for the bottom line.

Remember Jimmy Carter donning a sweater and asking Americans facing an energy crisis to turn down their thermostats? Or giving the speech about the nation’s “crisis of confidence” that led to his permanent association with “malaise?”

Carter’s critics turned both utterances into emblems that contributed to his political undoing.