Friday, May 30, 2008

The Price of Gas

To add to all the other reasons (we're told) that the price of gas has gone sky high, oil refineries perform maintenance in the spring, which traditionally lowers the immediate availability of gasoline and pushes prices slightly up. By the end of May, maintenance is over and normal amounts of gas are again available. While it could it be that the price of gas will stabilize at least for awhile, it isn't going to go down any great amount. It looks like we're stuck paying higher and higher prices.

The question is, what can we do about the price of gas?

Here's a multiple choice answer. (The more choices you make the more gas and money you'll save.)

1. Use alternative transportation whenever you can. Ride a bicycle, a motorcycle, a bus or a train. Or walk. Feet were made before wheels.

2. Carpool, share rides, or - the ultimate in ride sharing - share automobiles. While it may not save directly on fuel, it will save on transportation costs like insurance and maintenance (share them). You could very well save on gas because you'll be forced to better plan your outings.

3. Stay home. Novel idea, isn't it? I know... you have to go to work. You have to go to the grocery store. The post office. The bank. The library, the hardware store, the gym, the doctor, your mother's... but if you made it a point to do all your errands on the same day, and planned a route to cover the least amount of miles, you'll save gas. If you drive to work, do errands as you can on the way home or to work. Stay home the rest of the time.

4. Take some time and trouble to learn driving methods and maintenance schedules that will allow your vehicle to get the best gas mileage possible.

Question number two: Which one will you do first?

Even though the price of gas is high, and predictions of even higher prices is frightening, it will never get so high that we don't have some control over how much we use.

10 comments:

  1. I stay home first. I'm retired so I have that wonderful option. Then when I do go out, I plan my trips, in the most efficient route. No more going out, just to get out of the house!!

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  2. It's great to have that option all the time. I'm thinking I will be walking more just to get away from things now and then.

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  3. I am staying home more too, however I am finding my food bill going up, as more friends are stopping by! LOL, but I am doing more at home so it is better. Another nice thing is that it is summer weather here now, so I can go in my yard and putter, I can't walk far due to an injury last year, but I have seating here and there around the yard ( just over an acre) so when I hurt I sit. The rest of the time I car pool with a freind, sometimes I drive and sometimes she drives. We also go across the line for gas and groceries. Right now gas here is $1.36.9/liter and in the the station across the line it is $1.03.9/ liter ( they price it in liters for the Canadains). This is less than a 10 kilometer distance between gas stations.

    T'other Pat in Kitchener

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  4. T'other Pat, it sounds like you're saving quite a bit of gas. I work at home, so I'm here most of the time, too. I'm "walking challenged" sometimes (due to health problems) but I am walking more than before. I have a suspicion we will all find more and more ways to save as time goes - unless the price goes back down. (Dreaming)

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  5. One tiny thing I've changed is how I put my seat belt on. I used to start up the car, then put my seatbelt on. Now, I'm concious to do it in reverse, putting the seat belt on first, THEN starting up the car.
    Not sure if I'm saving lots of gas, but if I start my car 30-50 times per tank, I imagine it's worth a bit of change!

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  6. I'm driving less. I am very far away from a grocery store. The nearest one is about 12 miles away, but it is tiny (it's also the P.O.). 1 gallon of milk costs $4.99! So it's worth it for me to drive into the nearest town, 70 miles away. I'm going twice a month now, but once my garden starts producing I hope to cut back to 1 time a month. Also, my husband has been driving my car when he needs to go a far distance (my car gets 32 mpg on the highway). I wish I could walk more, but I'm too far away from anything! Maybe I should buy a horse! LOL!

    Shawna from Summer Lake

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  7. We can only do what we can, Shawna. Sounds like you're doing the best you can where you are.

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  8. I don't own a car to start with, so I always get around by walking, cycling and public transit. The only way that high gas prices are going to affect me is indirectly as higher transport costs are factored into the prices of goods I buy. Not much I can do about that, other than buy local and secondhand.

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  9. Now that's the best way to save on gas: Don't own a vehicle. Really, if you can get by without it, why go to the expense?

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