Planemaker

I believe that bicycling is/was starting to become a necessary means of transportation in urban areas due to expensive gasoline and wages remaining flat over the past few years.

I do wander with sub $2.20 per gallon gas and the price going down how long it will take before we forget and go back to our gas guzzling ways.

FBinNY 

I doubt that costly gas alone is a major factor in whether people bicycle or not.

Remember that people driving many miles are probably exceeding the distances they can replace with a bicycle. Looked at another way, figure a 20 miles/day round trip commuter. That's 100 miles per week, and at an estimate of 20mpg, we're talking about 5gals/week. A drop of $1-2 in the price is not going to add up enough to drive the decision process for these people.

When you look at the cost of owning and operating a car, fuel typically accounts for about 1/3rd or less of the total cost, so I suspect that most of the people who decide to commute by bike are doing it for other reasons, possibly getting rid of one car altogether, possibly health, possibly because they simply want to.

PaulH

It was the inconvenience of driving that got me into cycling. If cheaper gas means more congestion and tighter parking, it would help cycling.

1loosemoose

I think its sad they have people thinkng that $2.20 a gallon is cheap. It's a result of taking it hard in the shorts for many years.
It won't stay "cheap" for long so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Kindaslow

I do have gas due to some cheap food, but that might be off topic.

i have to drive to work given no shower at work and the need to dress formally.

02Giant 

If the cost of "protecting our interest" in the Middle East were added into the price of gas, very few people would be able to afford it.

B. Carfree

There was a bump in cycling in 2009 due to the small increase in gas prices. It varied substantially by city. My city saw a 50% increase to 10.8% of all commuters (well, the ones who live inside the city limits anyway). That bump had some staying power in many places, but not here; we lost more than we had gained over the next couple of years as prices settled down a bit.

For the few people who ride because of gas prices, I suppose the decline could affect their choice. However, there appears to be a growing number of people who are turning away from cars for reasons other than cost, at least other than the small portion of the cost that is paid at the pump. There's the little matter of our near-constant entanglement in wars to secure oil, the devastating national/regional/local environmental cost of drilling/pumping/fracking/shipping/refining, and, for those who see beyond their own nose, climate change. There's also a growing body of evidence that the particulates from cars are not just killing us, they're damaging our, and more importantly, our children's brains.

Anecdotally, I am seeing more utility cycling in my neighborhood than I have in several years. Sure, we're having warmish and not too-wet weather for December, but it's nice to see and gives me hope. Then again, fewer than half the residents of my 5000-person strong neighborhood use cars as their primary means of transportation. It's nice to live among forward-thinking folks.

1loosemoose

Oh there's no free lunch. That cost has been figured in to our national debt.

02Giant 

That is a given but it is a debt that most don't realize it impacts them. If it were part of the cost a gallon of gas, I think some things would be a lot different.

Gerryattrick

If the price of fuel impacts so much on people taking up cycling everyone here in the UK would be riding bikes.

FarHorizon

When I read this thread title, I thought it might be about pork & beans... LOL

LAriverRat

I never stopped guzzling gas because I can afford it. Have to feed the six speed with twin turbos.

howeeee

I am 61 I bike, to bike . I know that many bike shops do much better when the price of gas is high. So i feel bad for them when gas prices go way down, some of them might not survive.

NealH

With lower priced gas, I drive to more places and ride. This is especially true for riding events in surrounding states. It may not actually increase my monthly milage average but it broadens the riding perspective and is fun. And low price gas has other consumer benefits too.

David Bierbaum

The current cheap gas is a bit of an anomaly, and the prices WILL go back up to just about what it was, eventually. In fact, it really wasn't that long ago when none of us would have called these current prices cheap....

For the bike shops, one hidden plus will be the effect of the cost of gas on shipping prices.

Dan Burkhart 

If gas was free, I would still ride my bike for most of my short run errands and for recreation because I love it. Also partly because after having driven over 4 million miles in my lifetime, I've pretty much had my fill of driving, even though I still derive part of my income from driving.

big john

The price of gas has nothng to do with my cycling. I will still do the same rides regardless of the cost of fuel and I suspect the same is true for most recreational cyclists.

trackhub

Aren't there already reports of SUV sales going back up?

RoadTire 

$1.97 last night. The only time prices enter my consciousness is figuring the cost of a 3 or 4 hour drive to a hiking or biking trail. Else I just would rather not spend time in the car.

irwin7638

I pretty much parked the car when it was obvious that gas would be over $2 a few years ago, but I had been commuting and biking for 40 years. It just made me do it exclusively. Since then I have heard all sorts of predictions that bike commuting would explode on the scene at different price points. It hasn't happened. People are just convinced they have to have the rolling social persona to survive.

Marc

rydabent

High priced gas is stupid for two reasons. First it hurts the poor the worst. Second we have plenty of oil in the US, so we shouldnt be buying mideast oil at all.

ModeratedUser150120149

Oil is a global commodity. Doesn't matter where it is pumped out of the ground. The price is determined by how much it can be sold for on the global market. Besides, do a bit of research and you will find that, except for Alaska, the oil in the ground is owned by either foreign, or multinational firms. Their mission is to make as much money as they legally can.

Actually, low oil prices have a tendency to scare some folks. Low prices are due to low demand. Low demand is caused by slow down in the big population drivers. Generally that does not bode well. Since many of our bikes are made there maybe the net effect will be less bikes. That may hurt the LBS?

Walter S

Gas is not cheap because of low demand. If anything it's because of high supply. Everybody is fighting for market share by overproducing. The Saudis don't mind sending the price down because they know shale oil producers can't make money in this market.

ModeratedUser150120149

Flip side of the coin. Most folks who express such views lack a macro understanding of global economy. Most analysts think right now the world economy is in a slow down, especially in the two countries with the largest populations, China and India. That slowdown means less demand for many things, including oil. So, in the immediate future there will be a frictional surplus of oil. Very little doubt that will work its' way out and we'll be back to more expensive oil.

Those who advocate bicycles for everyday almost exclusive transportation have only to look to China to see that people prefer motor vehicles. China went from a country with a huge reliance on bicycles to a car centric society, even at the expense of horrible air pollution.

So, like others above, other than its' effect on bicycle prices and availability I don't think in the macro oil prices have much to do with cycling. Ever since GM bought up local trains and trolleys and converted the US to automobiles for mass transport the key factor has been availability of gas, not price. Now we are fairly well committed to that for most transportation.

martianone

Current $2-2.50 gas price as a ratio of income is a great value; compared to this ratio over time.
During the 70's, gas price doubling from around $0.45 to $0.90/gal. Even with a shrinking dollar,
$2/gal today is a better deal than $.90 thirty five years ago.
Been a commuting/utility cyclist since 1960, at first out of necessity.
After a while, I traveled by bike because I liked to.
Gas could be a dollar or ten, wouldn't affect my cycling.