When Gas Reaches $7/Gal.....

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pcbikedude
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When Gas Reaches $7/Gal.....

Post by pcbikedude »

Just curious,

When gas reaches $7/gal., how will that change your driving habits?
The scenery only changes for the lead scooterist.
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bunny
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Post by bunny »

More scooter, less cage (except when it rains)
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anndelise
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Re: When Gas Reaches $7/Gal.....

Post by anndelise »

pcbikedude wrote:Just curious,

When gas reaches $7/gal., how will that change your driving habits?
When gas reaches $7/gal either 2 wheels will take over the world....
or hybrids and electric cars will further invade.
:D
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MikieTaps
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Post by MikieTaps »

i wont change a damn thing... i dont have a car to NOT drive... :wink:
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n00b4life
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Post by n00b4life »

I may start telecommuting once a week or something.

Maybe I'll change my hours to miss the stop-and-go traffic, but traffic has already gotten measurably lighter at $4 per gallon. At $7, I'd expect to have a lot less company on the road, so my mileage should improve greatly. I get 27 in the cage when I drive in rush hour and 32 when I miss rush hour. Either rush hour would go away, or I would probably drive different hours.

I already commuted on a motorcycle for a long time and am not interested in doing it again, nor on a scooter. 120 miles round-trip, with the sun beating down and deer running in front of you and all the time suiting up (ballistic jacket, gloves, ear plugs, helmet), it was just a PITA.

I already ride my bike all over the place on weekends. With the scooter, I've got pretty much all of the other weekend destinations covered, plus evenings. Unless I get a job closer to home, or they put the commuter rail in, I'll be in the car M-F.
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sotied
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Post by sotied »

I'll go pick up food for the bunker on Scootle. I'll probably still drive the amount I'm driving now except will make more planned trips - and coordinated errands.

But my car is a Scion xA and gets 33MPG, so when I take the car it's not horrible.

And I work from home, so my commute is pretty short...about 22 feet from bedroom to studio.

Wish I could be more dramatic and say that I'll enslave a burro and build a trailer out of hemp to carry Scootle to the market. Then I'll race other scooterists for gas money and return home riding the burro with cash and Scootle in the trailer.
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Christy
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Post by Christy »

probably won't change anything. I already ride my scoot as much as possible and my other vehicle is a hybrid anyway...
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DennisD
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Post by DennisD »

Won't change anything. I'm filthy rich. :rofl:
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ellen
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Post by ellen »

Forget driving habits, I'm not going to be able to afford to go to the supermarket anymore! :cry:

Anyway, riding home from work tonight I passed 2 Zuma's, 1 Scarabeo 150 and about 5 Chinese bikes. Never used to see any. I love being a trend setter :)
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Post by luckyleighton »

I will be celebrating Christmas in 2008 if there is some conflict in Iran! :(

I have dreamed up a plan to somehow haul the scoot on my wife's car and ride most of the way with her and then get on the scoot and go to work from there. There is some interstate between our work and house, and I would not be comfortable scooting the whole way.
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Post by jfrost2 »

Prius's will slave humanity.
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Post by tunseeker1 »

When gas hits $7 a gallon what WE drive won't matter.

Most of the products we buy are moved by truck and train, both of which run on oil based products. Those costs are passed on to you in the way of higher prices.

I can afford gas to drive whenever/wherever I want, its the food I'll miss :cry:
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Post by Eddy Merckx »

I'll only use my cage in the winter, and then only when there is snow or ice on the roads, Scoot for normal commutes, and my bicycle for around town, I have all ready reduced my average gasoline consumption to about $25.00 dollars a month.

But consider this: In Europe, and the rest of the world they are and have been paying way more for gas than us in the States, currently to the tune of $8.00 to $9.00 dollars a gallon. We really don't have a foot to stand on in comparison with everyone else. Someday Americans and their government might actually figure it out and stop being as wasteful as possible in our choices of how we transport ourselves and our goods and services. Trains are way more efficient per ton hauled than trucks, but we have chosen to let our once extensive rail system degrade, and use the far less efficient trucks and cars, Being a car-centic society gets us exactly what we got...
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EP_scoot
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Post by EP_scoot »

EddyMerckx wrote:

But consider this: In Europe, and the rest of the world they are and have been paying way more for gas than us in the States, currently to the tune of $8.00 to $9.00 dollars a gallon. We really don't have a foot to stand on in comparison with everyone else , and we do come across as a bit as whiners on a world scale. Someday Americans and their government might actually figure it out and stop being as wasteful as possible in our choices of how we transport ourselves and our goods and services.
Gas in Europe is twice or more per gallon what we pay here, true. They compensate by having a fleet that is about 50% diesel, which is quite a bit cheaper than unleaded. There are tons of MC, scooters and moped as well. But the big factor is that the public transportation is fenomenal. In other words, we don't drive nearly as much as we do here, we don't have to. European cities are very pedestrian/public transportation friendly. Everytime I am there, I park the car and won't touch it for days at a time as I can take the bus/metro anywhere and it is very convenient regarding stops and schedules. Additionally it saves you the headaches and cost of parking the cage.

So it is not a really fair comparison as most cities in the US are not designed for foot traffic. Heck, most suburbs don't even have sidewalks. Everything is design for a car and the urban sprawl typical of the US does not allow for public transportation european style, which is what you would need for people to drop the cage.
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bunny
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Post by bunny »

Eddy Merckx wrote:Being a car-centic society gets us exactly what we got...
Becoming car-centric is what got us out of one of the very first recessions. Cars were originally only for the wealthy as they were the only ones who could afford them. Car manufacturers realized they needed to sell more cars to make a profit. Ford created the Model T and the rest is history...we've been buying cars and haven't stopped.

NY, SF and a few other random cities are the only ones who have stepped up to the public/alternative transpo plate because space concerns made it a necessity. Urban sprawl in every other city has made it an option, not a necessity. Once it becomes a necessity, and it will soon, the rest will follow.
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iinigma7
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Post by iinigma7 »

$5 is high enough for us to drastically change our habits now. I drive the buddy to work all week long, and my wife and the kids stay home more. When she does have to do some running around town in the cage she plans her stops so she can consolidate her tasks and get multiple things done on one trip. Plus we now get things like groceries, haircuts, etc. closer to home. We've been able to get by on about $35-$50 per week on gas between the two of us. Not too bad.

My neighbor who has like 13 kids (several of which are drivers) and two huge ford vans said his family goes through $1,400 in gas costs per month. :shock:
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ItalianBoy
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Post by ItalianBoy »

I agree, fuel costs are already changing day to day life.

The only good thing about rising fuel costs is it's already starting to bring back a sense of community. People are purchasing local again and moving back closer to the city.

On a side note, We over planted our garden this year to make up for the rising cost of food. We also decided to get a few chickens for eggs. We are fortunate enough that our neighborhood "shares" so I can trade eggs for honey and veggies from the people behind us. We are also thinking of joining a CSA (Community Supported Agricultre) next year to help with food costs by keeping it local.
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Post by nissanman »

I love being a trend setter ! Gotta love the truth behind that one. About a month ago my wife had a tag sale and my BuckTen was parked in the corner of the garage. Someone comments on the scooter with something like "oh, got a scooter to save on gas." My wife goes nope, he got that a year ago. :)
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jfrost2
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Post by jfrost2 »

Bread will be 4 dollars a loaf, milk 10 dollars a gallon, cheetos 15 dollars for a super sized bag...

It hurts.
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ItalianBoy
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Post by ItalianBoy »

jfrost2 wrote:Bread will be 4 dollars a loaf, milk 10 dollars a gallon, cheetos 15 dollars for a super sized bag...

It hurts.
I also decided to start making my own wine. I'll be damned if I'm paying $25 for a bottle for something with the equivilency of arbor mist.
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Xena
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Post by Xena »

I hate even thinking that petrol will get to $7/gallon, but I will tweak what I need to ride more in the colder months when possible pending snow, ice, rain.
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bunny
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Post by bunny »

jfrost2 wrote:Bread will be 4 dollars a loaf, milk 10 dollars a gallon, cheetos 15 dollars for a super sized bag...

It hurts.
Don't eat bread. Lactose intolerant, so no milk worries, trying to cut out cheetos altogether...

I'm more worried about the cost of guacamole and baked tostitos scoops. ;)
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bfreed
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Post by bfreed »

how will it change my driving habits?

Well hopefully, the half-dozen people in the office with 1 hour+ commutes each way will finally be successful in talking management into 4 longer days instead of a 5-day week.

Then I can use the extra day to go riding! lol.

Seriously, though. At 90mpg, the difference between $4/gal and $7/gal is 3.4 cents per mile. At 100mpg, the difference is 3 cents.

I'm currently riding 100 miles per week - the cost increase would be $3.40.
Even at $7/gallon, I could take a 130-mile joyride for the cost of seeing a movie.

I have second-guessed nearly every purchase in my life. The Buddy is probably the first thing I've had not even an inkling of regret over. As long as I'm riding instead of driving, the price of gas is largely irrelevant.

As others have mentioned, the large increases to food, diapers, formula... THOSE things hurt.

[edit] oh, and +1 to Europe's public transportation system. Our attempts at trains, buses, and airlines are just plain embarrassing after you spend a week in Europe. How eastern European countries like the Czech Republic and Poland can offer transportation that's cheaper, less hassle, and infinitely better than ours boggles my mind. But I'd better stay off that soapbox...
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