Gas Prices

[solomon]

So, I was wondering how people, particularly in the US, are dealing with the high price of gas?

I'm a college student. I am from NoVa (Fairfax County, VA; core inner suburb of DC Metro area) but am attending college in Oberlin College, in NE Ohio (it's in the cornfields about 30 min away from Cleveland, traffic permitting) with no car.

Thusly, with me being in a realitivley isolated college town, I am pretty much immune to the pain of holed in wallets like my family.

How bout the rest of ya?

Also how's the price of "petrol" affecting you non-yankees out there?

[escimo]

A Finn reporting...
When I used to commute to work on a car my gas-bill was roughly 200€.
Gas costs about 1.6€/liter here (about $9/US-gallon).

All I can say. Sucks Big Time.

[solomon]

Damn, 9 dollars and we yanks think we have it bad.

What have you done to deal with the problem.

[Eps~]

Slovenia:
1,128€/liter.

Thank goodness I don't have to drive to the university much during summer.

[Quzor]

Well, I don't have a car right now, but that's turning out to be both a blessing and a curse.

Gas is fluxuating between $4.00/$4.50 a gallon here (Michigan), which sucks a lot. For me, it's a blessing not having a car because I don't have to fill up my own tank (though I'm happy to throw friends some money here and there, seeing as how they cart me around quite a bit lately), but it's a curse because I can't get myself from point A to point B without someone's assistance (provided points A and B are not within walking distance).

Gas prices suck, but hopefully they'll suck less by the time I get the money to get my car fixed.

[solomon]

You a college student Quzor? For me it aint that bad most stores/emnities I need provided by teh town/college itself, cept if I wanna use the Wal Mart Super center, I have to walk down the US route.

Also what part of Michigan you in? No public buses?

[escimo]

Originally Posted by solomon

Damn, 9 dollars and we yanks think we have it bad.

What have you done to deal with the problem.

Bought a car that uses more gas and drive less. (average 17 MPG)
Moved to using public transportation as much as possible.

[solomon]

Sweet, do you live in the YTV (Helsinki Metro Area)? I hear they have great PT.

[escimo]

Originally Posted by solomon

Sweet, do you live in the YTV (Helsinki Metro Area)? I hear they have great PT.

I do actually. Wouldn't call it great though, but it does its job. So graded Fair. Schedules seem to be somewhat unfamiliar concept at times.

[Supah Em]

Price here(when converted) is about $1.27 dollars per liter (Do the math if you want it in gallons). Prices have reached unprecedented levels and I dont even use my car on weekdays anymore (imagine spending about $10-$20 a day just going back and forth to school, which is about an hour and a half away)

[Quzor]

Originally Posted by solomon

You a college student Quzor? For me it aint that bad most stores/emnities I need provided by teh town/college itself, cept if I wanna use the Wal Mart Super center, I have to walk down the US route.

Also what part of Michigan you in? No public buses?

I was a college student. I graduated last December. When I was at school, I lived in an apartment and had to get myself to/from class and work (which was the local grocery). While there was a public bus system, it was not conducive to extended journeys in a timely manner (In one instance, I actually went nearly 4 miles beyond my destination to get to a transfer point, then over and back to where I needed to get. 2-3 hours to go approximately 5 miles...I could have walked there faster).

Now I live north of Detroit, and there are ZERO public buses. I can take a taxi around, but I live in BFE, so even that isn't too convenient, as I have to wait for them to get out to me, and pay more money than I would for gas.

Like I said, I'm lucky I have nice friends who are willing to cart me around on a fairly regular basis, for the occasional monetary/herbal donation.

[solomon]

BFE?

You in Metro Detroit? I can't figure out why they at least can't have better PT, specially to Oakland and Macomb counties.

Out here in Oberlin, OH. We have PT actually. But Lorain County is very sparsley populated, towns about 8,000 people, with the college being about 3,000 students.

Our "buses" are essentially the size of shuttles people use to get to and fro from the airport. It's a nightmare come holiday, what's a 25 capacity vehicle carrying almost twice that with huge luggage on the floor to boot. Careening down the freeway at 50 Mph.
Fun Times.

Oh and the service stops at 8pm on weeknights (12 hours total) with even less service on weekends.

Thank god for the extended service during holidays.

Over in Philly, where my mom's family lives. Gas can range from 4 dollars to 3.80 a gallon. And it's suspiciously higher in poorer areas. However the entire Philly area has an AWESOME PT service in SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) so it evens out.

Unfortunetly few location in the US and Canada are so lucky.

However, scince im out in the boonies. Gas is lower I think.

[Prestwick]

In the UK?

£2.55p a therm!

Oh..wait..you mean Petrol

[Quzor]

Originally Posted by solomon

BFE?

Bum-fucking-egypt (Far away from anything).

You in Metro Detroit? I can't figure out why they at least can't have better PT, specially to Oakland and Macomb counties.

Out here in Oberlin, OH. We have PT actually. But Lorain County is very sparsley populated, towns about 8,000 people, with the college being about 3,000 students.

Our "buses" are essentially the size of shuttles people use to get to and fro from the airport. It's a nightmare come holiday, what's a 25 capacity vehicle carrying almost twice that with huge luggage on the floor to boot. Careening down the freeway at 50 Mph.
Fun Times.

Oh and the service stops at 8pm on weeknights (12 hours total) with even less service on weekends.

Thank god for the extended service during holidays.

Over in Philly, where my mom's family lives. Gas can range from 4 dollars to 3.80 a gallon. And it's suspiciously higher in poorer areas. However the entire Philly area has an AWESOME PT service in SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) so it evens out.

Unfortunetly few location in the US and Canada are so lucky.

However, scince im out in the boonies. Gas is lower I think.

Well, I suppose you could say my situation is much like living in Lorain County; it's sparsely populated, and what towns there are, are spread very far apart. Rather than cities or counties, the area I live is mostly full of "townships" (city/county/township/etc. is based on population per square mile, or some such statistic). Because of the sparse population there is very little reason to maintain effective public transportation. Remember, in an area where there's a college or some such institution, public transportation is necessary because people need to be able to get to and fro. In an area where people are not densely populated, and there are no major institutions, there's no urgency for people to get from A to B.

In Oakland and Macomb counties, there is PT. How effective it is, I cannot speak to, as I've never had need to use it (again, the friends). I don't see very many buses when I'm in those areas, so my guess is that it is less than effective. Regardless, it's still cheaper and more effective for me to allow my friends and family to help me, when they're willing, because I don't have to rely on a system that may or may not be effective and reliable.

[solomon]

Hmm, well one thing is for sure. When I get a car, i'll be getting a sedan or coupe or something of the sort. Being in metro areas with terrible traffic, it was always funny how people spend money on huge ass Hummers and GMCs and Chevys only to get stuck on I-95 for 3 hours in gridlock traffic with them.

BTW, does anyone know the true answer over wiether Japanese cars are more feul efficent then US cars?

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Supah Em

Price here(when converted) is about $1.27 dollars per liter (Do the math if you want it in gallons).

Conversion is a bit difficult if you don't mention which dollar you're using.

Originally Posted by Quzor

Gas is fluxuating between $4.00/$4.50 a gallon here (Michigan), which sucks a lot.

That is cheap. No wonder Americans find it so hard to kick their fuel-guzzling habits.

Here in Singapore, octane-95 petrol is currently going at around S$1.9/litre (US$5.10/gallon).

Luckily, I don't have to cope with it, because I've sold my car long before prices got this crazy. I did my maths, and realised it didn't make any economic sense to drive here. Not when the country is so small, and the public transportation good enough to take me to most places I would want to go. Nonetheless, the increase in pump prices does affect me, because it drives the inflation that has been hurting my wallet since the beginning of this year.

The good news is that these prices can't be sustained in the long run. We're already beginning to see crude oil prices sliding down. Barring any major wars or disasters in the oil-producing countries, oil prices ought to come back down to saner levels early next year.

In the meantime, I hope pump prices stay high long enough for Americans to change their transportation habits. It's atrocious that a country the size of a continent has not developed a rail system as extensive as Europe's. Rather than lecturing China and the rest of the world about energy security and protecting the environment, the United States can do more to set its own house in order first.

[Potatochobit]

I have been to singapore and rode the MRT. the whole country has a diameter of 20-40 miles? most people have to drive that far just to go to work in the US. a train system is not practical unless you live in a large city. I live in Dallas and we have a DART which is similar to the MRT. but it doesnt go to any shopping areas which is bad. once you get off you will have to take a bus or a taxi to get to your destination which also makes using it impractical unless you work in the central part of dowtown.

[Orchunter226]

This thread makes me see that things aren't so bad here in Florida. Gas prices have been fluctuating between $3.63 per gallon to $3.69.

Highest I ever saw it was $4.01/gallon. But, even that was killing me, being a poor college student.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Orchunter226

This thread makes me see that things aren't so bad here in Florida. Gas prices have been fluctuating between $3.63 per gallon to $3.69.

Highest I ever saw it was $4.01/gallon. But, even that was killing me, being a poor college student.

in the Bay Area, we would kill for 3.69/gallon. it is currently around $4 but it was as high as 4.55 for a while.


@Potatochobit
while i agree the logistics between the US and singapore is very different it still doesn't excuse the US form setting up a more efficient public transportation system.

I blame the auto and airline company and US public for being too stupid to learn thier lesson formt he 70s oil crisis.

[Zoned87]

Gasoline was eating away at my budget, eventually I gave up and bought an 100mpg motorcycle to replace my car for most tasks.