Sunday, May 07, 2006

How to save money on gas. . . by Rick Mitchell

Dear Friends,

As a retired Traffic Engineer, I though I'd share with you some ideas on how to save money on gas! Listen up and hear some ways to ease the pain at the pump.

Recently there was an email which said we could reduce the price of gas by doing what people do when the price of eggs goes to high -- stop buying so many eggs!

That's not a bad idea, since both are responsive to market forces of supply and demand -- only most people can get along without eggs easier than they can do without gasoline. After all, the have to get to work, shop, go to the doctor, and do other essential chores. But...

But maybe we can figure out ways to DRIVE LESS and save on gas expenses, whatever the price and whatever mileage your car gets!


√ Here's how: DECIDE HOW MUCH YOU'D LIKE TO CUT BACK ON YOUR WEEKLY GAS EXPENSES. Let's say you're going for a 10% reduction. Take the amount you spend and deduct 10%, then try to get all your traveling done with the amount of gas that amount buys! For example, if gas costs $2.96 and your tank holds 15 gallons -- a fill-up costs $44.40, and 10% off would be $40.


SIMPLY STOP THE PUMP WHEN YOU GET $40 WORTH OF GAS IN YOUR TANK. If enough people do this, believe me, the large oil companies WILL NOTICE! Their inventory will increase and. like the price of eggs when people buy less of them, the PRICE will DROP!


So, then the trick is how to get along on 10% less gas (or whatever goal you personally decide to choose for your personal travel needs).

Well, it's going to take MOTIVATION (you've set your 10% savings goal, OK) and some GOOD IDEAS on how to drive fewer miles (or drive more efficiently to get more miles per gallon). So, how can we begin to do that???


Here are some suggestions from my own experience:

1. COMBINE as many trips and travel-related chores as possible. By doing so, you can significantly reduce the number of miles driven.

2. Try to make trips during OFF-PEAK hours whenever possible, when less gas will be wasted by idling at stop lights and in slow traffic.

3. SHARE RIDES with a spouse or friend if you can. This can cut miles driven in close to half simply by sharing a vehicle and avoiding duplication of miles driven in your local neighborhood or city. Many people maintain two cars but can often share one vehicle by planning trips and scheduling to make them together at the same time. If one of your cars gets significantly better gas mileage, use it for these joint-use trips and multiply your savings.


√ An example of the above: Our new hybrid vehicle get twice as good mileage (about 42 mpg) as our older vehicle (about 21 mpg). So, for any given trip, it costs half as much (in out-of-pocket gas costs) to use the newer vehicle. If our older car were an SUV getting 14 mpg, then the trip in the hybrid would use 1/3 as much gas and cost 1/3 as much. This kind of savings can really begin to add up!!


4. Drive SMOOTHLY with fewer jack-rabbit starts and quick stops. Fact: When I drive, I get about 10 mpg less than my wife because of my "style" of driving (like most males)! My wife accelerates and decelerates more gradually, and thus she wastes significantly less gas than I do with my "pedal to the metal" take-offs and longer periods of idling at stop lights. (All those quick getaways don't really save time anyway).

5. Shop CLOSER TO HOME. It doesn't really pay to save pennies on those eggs at the low-price super if it's a 14-mile round trip (that's a $3 gallon of gas in the SUV).

6. CAR-POOL to work and split the cost of gas. You will also use less of it by driving in the HOV lane and coasting through toll booths in the car-pool lane!

7. WALK to the store or the park in your neighborhood and get your exercise that way rather than driving to that expensive workout place!

8. TAKE SHORTER VACATION TRIPS. Lots of people are doing that this summer -- it's cheaper and easier on the 'wear and tear' (for the car, your family, and yourself)!

9. Stuck in traffic? Pull off and TAKE A BREAK!! Make some calls with those unused minutes on your cell phone and have a cup of tea or coffee. When you get back, the traffic on the road may be much less congested and you'll drive at more relaxed (and efficient) speeds.

10. We're already saving gas and money with these measures. Try it and GET SATISFACTION by squeezing a rich oil CEO's bonus!!


√ Some of the above suggestions I have recently become more aware of because of our purchase of a "hybrid" vehicle (a Toyoto Prius) -- a vehicle that uses a combination of an electric motor and the more traditional gasoline-powered internal combustion engine. Unlike some vehicles powered solely by electricity, it is not necessary to ever "plug it in" to an electric power source, as its batteries are recharged by the movement of the vehicle when it is being powered by the gasoline engine.

√√ My wife got a great deal on the hybrid, too. With our Federal tax credit of $3,450, it will end up costing us less than $20,000 -- and it's not easy to buy a new car of any kind for that price these days!


For many years now, the automobile has been the primary means of providing that essential mobility for most people. Although that may be changing in some areas of the world, it is a very slow process -- especially in the United States, except for the very few most densely populated urban areas. And, as oil reserves get even tighter, we'll be needing to save all we can on gas for quite a few years yet to come.


Don't hold your breath, folks, hoping for cheap, clean, friendly, or convenient bus and rapid transit service to your suburban neighborhood. But there are things you can do RIGHT NOW to bring your gas bill down. That 10% should get you a free lunch about once a month! So, start filling the tank less, saving money, driving less, and enjoying it more!


-- Rick Mitchell (Retired), California Traffic Engineer

PS -- As the Exxon Tiger used to say, "Happy Motoring, Y'all..." :-))

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