General Cycling Discussion - Gas Prices

Okay, here in Fla (Pasco County) the gas prices have exceeded $2 a gallon.
The County I live in is one of the cheapest in Fla, and with the the Price of Gas being apx $2.09 for supreme I wonder how many people are going to hang their keys up and start riding wherever the go. I havent noticed a change in driving habits here, but it would be nice to see the roads with more cyclists.
Whats the Gas Prices where you live and have you noticed an increase in cyclists or is everyone still driving?

Portland Maine has been encouraging cycling; last year Bicycling magazine gave away a bunch of bikes to people here to promote cycling .So I couldn't tell you if it was the gas, the attempt to make the region more bike friendly, the
Bicycling promotion, or the alignment of the stars... Prob a cumulative effect, but whatever the cause there are way more cyclists now.

Okay, here in Fla (Pasco County) the gas prices have exceeded $2 a gallon.
The County I live in is one of the cheapest in Fla, and with the the Price of Gas being apx $2.09 for supreme I wonder how many people are going to hang their keys up and start riding wherever the go. I havent noticed a change in driving habits here, but it would be nice to see the roads with more cyclists.
Whats the Gas Prices where you live and have you noticed an increase in cyclists or is everyone still driving?


High fuel prices may yet cause more people to appriciate the
practicality of the bicycle just as the rest of the world does.

Prices have been reported at over $3 per gallon for supreme in Santa Barbara. Somebody else mentioned the same for somewhere in Orange County. Here in Portland, I paid $2.52 for supreme just yesterday.

Good thing I'm already driving less.

55/Rad

Do you think high gas prices will cause people to hang up their car keys? I hope so , but I'm not sure if they will. I think people would rather continue to complain about gas prices, loose a ton of money, and have the government use foreign "diplomacy", than get off out of the car and change the American Lifestyle of driving.

I do think we're seeing an increased interest in cars with better gas mileage, which is a good bi product of higher fuel prices. People in Hummer H2's aren't looking as bling bling as th ey used to these days, ya know. In fact, most people think they're idiots. So thats kinda nice.

$2.25 range for 87 octane in the L.A. area. Gas is still VERY VERY cheap for us here in the US compared to the rest of the world. If you took gas price per average US income per capita, we're paying even less than VERY VERY cheap. Four bucks a gallon for us is still cheap...

In Ukraine 93 Petrol costs 2.1 UAH (38 US cents) per 1 liter, so 1 US liq. gallon (3.785 liters) costs 1.44 USD in Ukraine.

In Western Europe it is more expensive, about 1 EUR (1.18 USD) per 1 liter, it makes 1 US liq. gallon costs 4.46 USD.

The real price of oil (and consequently for petrol) is much much more expensive. Now when Arab people got educated en masse, the price may really rocket.

Gas is more expensive in Europe because they do tax the heck out of their gas to pay for their public programs. Remember, we all pretty much pay the same price per barrel of oil, but the goverments of each country will add on extra charges at the pump. In the summer, the gas is treated also, so we have to pay for that too. It is useless to compare gas prices per country, just as useless is it is to compare per state, and even per county and per city.

All we can say is gas is costing us a lot, no matter where you are. It's up to OPEC to decide how much oil they are going to pump per day , if they're going to increase or decrease production, and how much refining of the gas will we be doing. All that stuff will contribute to the cost of gas, but then after that, I'd be more inclined to talk about how county and city taxes are affecting the gas to keep gas prices elevated.

Koffee

Right now gas in bc sits around 2.73 american per gallon

Aberdeen, Scotland, is reputedly europe's oil capital. Gas is around 80 pence a LITRE here. No-one is giving up their car anytime soon........winter lasts six months some years and local services are fading fast.

Hop in the car and drive to the gym.............. ;-)

1.83 here in MS. :) I remember about 2 years ago when it was down to 1.02 for a few weeks. Should have mass purchased as much gas as I could have and opened my own gas station.

1.83 here in MS. :) I remember about 2 years ago when it was down to 1.02 for a few weeks. Should have mass purchased as much gas as I could have and opened my own gas station.
.....much less of a hassle to just invest in oil futures....

$1.94.9/gal for regular unleaded up here. We also have $0.46/gal of tax on each gal. Glad I bike commute!

Reg unleaded is between $1.81 and $1.91 here on the Gulf Coast of Fl, but I know when I leave this county its at least .20 cents higher...
I moved here a little over 2 years ago and it was at .99 cents

Here in central Texas prices are in the low $1.80's for regular with super going for over $2.00. Nobody seems to have changed their driving habits. I've never been much of a "fast" driver so I'd really piss off other drivers if I were to go any slower. Unfortunately my work (construction) simply prevents me from commuting, but there
are a few that do. Every few days you can watch the prices @ the stores/stations change. Where will it end?

Here in Wisconsin our state taxes are high too. Heck, overall, Wisconsin has been a proud(?) leader in the tax area on everything for a long time. So our gas is about $2.05 for regular, premium is just a waste of money for the vast majority of people.
So I figure when I drive, which is a far amount of the time cause everything is so darn far away, I'm combining trips and slowing down. With that I'm hoping to keep my gas cost to about the same amount.
It does look like some people are slowing down(hopefully to save gas), cause last week when I had to take a longer trip I never passed so many cars before. And I was doing the speed limit.

I did notice there are less people at the pumps. Here in Chicago, average reg. gas is like $2.10, and the highest I've seen or heard gas is $2.39. Of course, it doesn't help that we've had some taxes slapped on for the city and we've also had some gas refinement done, so they claim it makes our gas more expensive.

Koffee

Doesn't matter much to me...4 days a week guaranteed - bike to work. Occasionally I head out to the burbs'...but my Honda keeps my wallet pretty fat. I laugh now...fuggin SUVs and their moronic Urbanite pilots...

$1.85 in Alabama USA

$2.21 regular unleaded here, $2.49 premium. Judging from some of the neighborhoods I ride through, I don't think it will be discouraging the purchase of H2s anytime soon. With that said, drive what you want, it's a free country and it's your money.

last time I checked it was over $3 here.

Glad I bike and use public transit.

All we can say is gas is costing us a lot, no matter where you are. It's up to OPEC to decide how much oil they are going to pump per day , if they're going to increase or decrease production, and how much refining of the gas will we be doing. All that stuff will contribute to the cost of gas, but then after that, I'd be more inclined to talk about how county and city taxes are affecting the gas to keep gas prices elevated.


Unfortunately, they aren't keeping it elevated, and this is the problem. What governments actually do (both here and the US) is subsidise the crap out of it. "Taxes" are really just a scape goat from the whiners in the media and the oil companies. Personally I'd like to see it hit $5/litre (around $22 per gallon) and see those subisidies spent on the people who actually produce these things that cheap fuel is supposed to deliver. That would be a far more efficent outcome, but I can't see that happening anytime soon.

Gas is still VERY VERY cheap for us here in the US compared to the rest of the world.
Is it really? Recent studies have examined the hidden costs of gas in the US by calculating such factors as government subsidies to the oil industry and defense spending in the Persian Gulf region. When these costs are added to the price at the pump, the resulting estimates exceed $5.00 per gallon. When other factors such as environmental, health, and social costs are added to the equation, estimates reach up to $15 per gallon.

National Defense Council Foundation report: the hidden cost of imported oil (http://www.iags.org/n1030034.htm)
International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA): The Real Price Of Gas (http://www.icta.org/projects/trans/rlprexsm.htm)

Personally I'd like to see it hit $5/litre (around $22 per gallon)

Amen!

Unfortunately Florida has no type of Mass transit system.. My work is 25 miles away on the highway and would be much further if I rode and avoided the highway.. Moving is not an option at this time..
SO I am a slave to my vehicle at this time....
I can complain about Gas prices, but at this time, I see no options...

Okay, here in Fla (Pasco County) the gas prices have exceeded $2 a gallon.
The County I live in is one of the cheapest in Fla, and with the the Price of Gas being apx $2.09 for supreme I wonder how many people are going to hang their keys up and start riding wherever the go. I havent noticed a change in driving habits here, but it would be nice to see the roads with more cyclists.
Whats the Gas Prices where you live and have you noticed an increase in cyclists or is everyone still driving?

Gas here in Nova Scotia Canada is 96.7 cents per litre or $3.66 per gallon.

Our local freak show (provincial govt) has decided to force the oil companies to advertise 2 days in advance before they put up there prices.

How THAT is gonna help I dunno.

Ya know, even tho I live outside of town and drive to work (35km one way) I hope to God it goes higher.
Maybe it will get some more off the road and finally allow me a safer trip in on my bike.

Digger

San Diego: $2:37 for the cheap stuff (don't have a fancy car for the other stuff)

I think the expensive stuff is like $2.50+. It is cheaper in the LA area.

Saw it at 2.05 last week, and heard places in Cali are already at 4.00!!!

We Americans have no idea how lucky we have it. When I was stationed in Europe in the military I would have paid nearly 5 dollars per gallon of gas at the rates there in the mid 80's.

Why do we whine so much about the cheapest gas on the planet? What about the price of bottled water. A gallon worth of dasani water is higher than gasoline! Sure, you don't have to buy the high priced stuff but why in the world is even the cheap water so high. I paid 59cents the other day for cheap water in a 16oz bottle. that would make it about 6.80 per gallon. Insane!

About 2.05 for mid-grade around Somerville (just outside Boston). Luckily I ride to work everyday... unluckily my g/f lives in Providence which is a 103 mile roundtrip for me... unfortunately I'm still making payments on the car as well... and zone 9 commuter rail would cost round trip: $12. So, its kinda cheaper still for me to drive and takes about the same time if I leave at the right time. :(

And, since I'm a lowly government worker, I don't have a whole lot of money to throw around... I bought the car when I had a better job... unfortunately the car loan will have lasted longer than the good job by about 2.5 years.

I just heard that our friendly neighborhood Metra locked in our gas prices at 80 cents a gallon for their diesel with their gas company. I wondered why our rail and bus services were able to hold off on raising their rates, and I guess this is why- good job on Metra, and hopefully, people will revert to taking public transportation once gas prices get so high they can't afford to drive as much anymore. Hopefully, this will lead to less congestion on the roads, because I don't notice people driving less!

Now I don't care about gas as much as I do about milk. What the heck is up with these milk prices??!!

Koffee

Unfortunately Florida has no type of Mass transit system.. My work is 25 miles away on the highway and would be much further if I rode and avoided the highway.. Moving is not an option at this time..
SO I am a slave to my vehicle at this time....
I can complain about Gas prices, but at this time, I see no options...
Ahhhhhhh so you know where US Highway 19 is and exactly what it is like... Well I am not complaining about the gas prices (YET) and since you are familuar with US 19 you know there are 57 traffic lights from Perry to Port Richey and you catch 47 of the red, so a 180 mile drive which should be only 3 hours, takes 4 hours due to the traffic lights and congestion on US 19, and I75 tho there are no traffic lights there is always way too much traffic. No win situation here, buy gas at their prices and fight the Florida Traffic LOL :beer:

$2.49 on my lunchtime bike ride to the bak here in San Juan Capistrano...

I SOOOOO wish I didn;t have to drive to work... but 60 miles r/t is just a bit far to ride...

at least in 6 weeks I can carpool with my wife... that way I can park my big ass truck... at least a few days a week

jeff

I just heard that our friendly neighborhood Metra locked in our gas prices at 80 cents a gallon for their diesel with their gas company. I wondered why our rail and bus services were able to hold off on raising their rates, and I guess this is why- good job on Metra, and hopefully, people will revert to taking public transportation once gas prices get so high they can't afford to drive as much anymore. Hopefully, this will lead to less congestion on the roads, because I don't notice people driving less!

Now I don't care about gas as much as I do about milk. What the heck is up with these milk prices??!!

Koffee
which is cheaper Milk or Cream???
Or would you like half and half with that??? :D

WHHHOOOO HOOOOOOOO!

It just went up to 99.9 per litre today!

which is cheaper Milk or Cream???
Or would you like half and half with that??? :D

I've heard about this milk thing, but I'm getting milk for 2.50/gallon which.. is that high?

About $1.65 for me in DFW... though I use Diesel. Probably up again today, but since I go 2+ weeks between fillups, I usually just cringe when, a day or two before I'm due, they jack the price a dime. Diesel doesn't seem to have quite the volatility as regular gas.

Oh yeah, and if I could commute, I would. But down here in TX, I'm nervous driving my 7K pound pickup truck on the roads, so my 20# bike and I wouldn't stand a chance. There's no shoulders, no bike lanes and no real logical route for me between here and work. Supposedly they're linking the various bike paths between Dallas and Fort Worth, so you should be able to ride all the way across the Metroplex by bike. I'll be moving before then, unfortunately, because I could certainly use the exercise as well as the few extra dollars.

WHHHOOOO HOOOOOOOO!

It just went up to 99.9 per litre today!

Quite the comedian there. The problem with such an extreme view is that they fail to consider the number of people that do not have access to public trans, nor do those same people have a way of commuting on a bike due to the distance. Are there abusers? Of course, no argument. We drive too damn much for small things. But until a myriad of factors fall into place we are going to be taking baby steps to get there.

Dave

Our local freak show (provincial govt) has decided to force the oil companies to advertise 2 days in advance before they put up there prices.

How THAT is gonna help I dunno.
Digger

That's ridiculous. So much for letting people run their own business.

Filled up at $2.27 per gallon with regular on Sunday. Meanwhile, milk has climbed to around $3.60 a gallon. I definitely use more milk than I do gas.

Haven't noticed an increase in bike usage except for my own. My sister and her husband seem to be preferring their Jetta to the Cherokee.

Is it really? Recent studies have examined the hidden costs of gas in the US by calculating such factors as government subsidies to the oil industry and defense spending in the Persian Gulf region. When these costs are added to the price at the pump, the resulting estimates exceed $5.00 per gallon. When other factors such as environmental, health, and social costs are added to the equation, estimates reach up to $15 per gallon.

National Defense Council Foundation report: the hidden cost of imported oil (http://www.iags.org/n1030034.htm)
International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA): The Real Price Of Gas (http://www.icta.org/projects/trans/rlprexsm.htm)

Good one... We are spending billions fighting in Iraq for weapons of mass distruction? Now that that idea went out the door it looks like we were really fighting for was to keep the region safe for oil exportation.

Ahhhhhhh so you know where US Highway 19 is and exactly what it is like... Well I am not complaining about the gas prices (YET) and since you are familuar with US 19 you know there are 57 traffic lights from Perry to Port Richey and you catch 47 of the red, so a 180 mile drive which should be only 3 hours, takes 4 hours due to the traffic lights and congestion on US 19, and I75 tho there are no traffic lights there is always way too much traffic. No win situation here, buy gas at their prices and fight the Florida Traffic LOL :beer:

Yes, I know US 19 death trap well. Well my choices are the Veteran's expressway(nothing express about it) or Dale Mabry which has just as many lights as US 19.. :)

1.89 in Roanoke, VA, where the bigger-the-better-SUV is still the king of the road.

I bike-commuted 4 days last week, ran to/from work 1 day, and used less than 2 gallons of gas in my vehicle.

Unfortunately Florida has no type of Mass transit system.. My work is 25 miles away on the highway and would be much further if I rode and avoided the highway.. Moving is not an option at this time..
SO I am a slave to my vehicle at this time....
I can complain about Gas prices, but at this time, I see no options...

This is the problem right there in a nut shell. I have access to over 10 bus lines and a billion dollar light rail all within walking distance. Most states in the U.S. have written off their public transport as unneeded expenditures. Now those states that are public transportation deficient have left you in a hole. More of your descretionary income must now be spent on transportation costs.

My transportation costs have been fixed for the past 3 and half years! I spend $93.00 dollars for my rail and light rail ticket per month. That's all! The next increase is not scheduled for another 2 to 5 years! In about 5 years from now, gas should be closing in on $4.00 dollars per gallon but I'll be paying slightly over $100.00 dollars per month for total transportation costs.

The city and state subsidize my transportation costs and that's the way it should be.

I'm going to add that Florida did want to build a high speed rail line but it looks like that went up in smoke thanks the Jed Bush and the Neocons. I heard they were going to use the money for more highway construction. Go figure.

Basically $2 a gallon here----that's why I got the new motorcycle---cause I'm not driving any less---I can't(work and my girlfriend lives out in the country)-----so I'm letting the 10mpg 4x4 sit while I drive the 50mpg cycle. Because at these prices---I was spending $300 a month on gas.

I'll be driving less in the winter---since she's looking for a place closer to town----and you drive less anyway---so when I have to let the cycle sit---it shouldn't be too bad.

Now if it would ever stop raining.

Quite the comedian there. The problem with such an extreme view is that they fail to consider the number of people that do not have access to public trans, nor do those same people have a way of commuting on a bike due to the distance. Are there abusers? Of course, no argument. We drive too damn much for small things. But until a myriad of factors fall into place we are going to be taking baby steps to get there.

Dave

I live in a rural community and drive to work everyday. *I* have no public transportation and no way to commute by bike due to the distance.

I own 2 vehicles BUT I have adjusted my work hours to fit with my wifes work hours so we only have to take 1 vehicle to work.

So, I am doing what I can to reduce my impact on the environment and save money on gas. On occassion, depending on my wifes schedule, take my beater bike in with me, park the car at my wife's place of work and ride the remaining 10km to my work.

How many people would 'inconvenience' themselves and their lives just for that?

I COULD ride to work from my house, but the lack of a safe direct route, insane traffic and no direct route prevents it. Plus it is a 35km round trip and would take me a little over an hour to do it, other than the summer months the time is just not there in the evenings and mornings. I have looked at the possibility, studied the times, studied the routes, test rode it, it's just not going to work.


BUT if gas rises and gets more cars off the road....then I'll certainly look at it again.

So is my view that extreme now?

But I agree, it will take baby steps, gas will have to go way high before people stop driving and the govt takes some action to provide the infrastructure for other transportation types.

I say WHOOO HOOO because all those people who look down on me for cycling, are, I hope, giving it a second thought.

I bet I don't look so stupid to them now.

Digger

I've heard about this milk thing, but I'm getting milk for 2.50/gallon which.. is that high?
Milk is $2.79 a gallon here in Fla, A gallon of distilled water is .59 cents at Wally World

I'm going to add that Florida did want to build a high speed rail line but it looks like that went up in smoke thanks the Jed Bush and the Neocons. I heard they were going to use the money for more highway construction. Go figure.
This Is "FLORIDUHHHHHHHHHHHHH" what do you expect??? wait dont answer that or we may have to have a RECOUNT LOL :rolleyes:

I'm going to add that Florida did want to build a high speed rail line but it looks like that went up in smoke thanks the Jed Bush and the Neocons. I heard they were going to use the money for more highway construction. Go figure.

I have lived in Florida my whole life.. I don't think the highways were ever NOT under construction.

Lets see....avg. mileage is 15000 a year. If I get 20 miles per gallon I use 750 gallons a year. If your paying 40 cents a gallon more thats $300 a year....

OR.......$6 a week. Most of use can scrap up the 6 bucks..all the North Westerners can....god forbid...skip a latte or 2.

If you get 10 miles per gallon its costing you $600 a year or $12 per week.
If you get 30 miles per gallon its costing you $200 a year or $4 per week.

I'm going to add that Florida did want to build a high speed rail line but it looks like that went up in smoke thanks the Jed Bush and the Neocons. I heard they were going to use the money for more highway construction. Go figure.

Not so true....some bozo managed to get 'bullet rain' on the ballot. When people went to vote they saw 'bullet train' and thought 'cool, that wopuld be neat'...The state was shocked when it was voted.in as LAW. A sinlge indiviudal is going to cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars on something we dont need.

It has nothing nothing to do with Jeb Bush and the Neocons....