One Smart Answer to Pricey Gas? Carpooling
Recent surveys suggest that consumers are increasingly feeling the pain of rising gas prices. If you fall into that category, here's a possible solution: Carpool.
Carpools usually work best for those who both live and work in nearby locations, such as neighbors who both work downtown or colleagues who live in the same suburb. Sharing rides saves gas money and reduces traffic (not to mention air pollution). If you're looking to carpool, RideSearch and eRideShare can help you get started. There are also many regional sites that specialize in connecting commuters. Do a Web search on "carpool" and the name of your region.
There is a downside, of course. You'll have to be more flexible on when you leave and possibly where you get dropped off. But according to the RideSearch savings calculator, if you commute 10 miles round trip to work 21 days a month, pay $3 a gallon for gas, and your vehicle gets 20 miles per gallon, then you're spending $84 a month, excluding parking costs and including 25 cents per mile in maintenance. Joining up with just one other person could split that expense in half.
Readers, if you have any good carpooling tips, please share them below.
Tags: transportation | gas prices
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Reader Comments
hitch a ride in Harrisburg
Although gas is temporarily decreasing, most other prices are increasing so saving money of gas is a worthwhile proposition. I am interested in starting a progrm in the Daugphin County area and am invetigating different programs, blogs, and forums. If someone can help me with this project, I can be rached at swheels@verizon.net. Thank you.
YOU ARE ALL A BUNCH OF IDIOTS
WE are to blame for this so-called gas crisis. Anyone with a half brain has known for years that the days of cheap plentiful oil will eventually come to an end. It is basic math: supplies and production capacity are fixed, while global demand is soaring. There is a huge middle class emerging in China and India that numerically exceed our entire population and those consumers can afford to drive cars now and are doing just that. We need to consume less. We need to give up our lazy wasteful lifestyle and start thinking outside the box. The prez, the Congress, oil and auto companies are not to blame. The less we drive, the less money into the pockets of the OPEC thieves who funnel profits to the terrorists in order to keep themselves in power. I hope gas goes to $5 a gallon and maybe people will wake up and start changing their wasteful lifestyle and start thinking as a community instead of as selfish individuals. I gave up my truck for a motorcycle and get 80 MPG. Gas can go to $10 a gallon as far as I'm concerned. Those who choose to live in suburbia and are tired of paying for commutes from hell should move. Stop whining and think of solutions instead of blaming everyone else.
Saving Gas
I purchased my car used. It came with a computer which figures real -time actual gas mileage. By changing my driving habits(nothing major)-and watching the computer-I have increased my gas mileage by over 10%. By just coasting down hills and coasting up to traffic lights-and taking off slowly-you can make a big difference in your fuel mileage. I don't do anything radical, unsafe, or illegal-just change your habits a little bit-and it can make a big difference. I drive 10 miles to work-so the gas price hasn't hurt me much-it is just my way to help the situation.
One thing I do notice-there are alot of people(most) who haven't gotten the message. I remember back in the seventies when we had the gas shortage-then there were lines for a few bucks worth of gas. Our whole way of life is based on cheap gas-we moved farther from work-we bought bigger cars-we use them like we are entitled to life spent on the road. It is time to wake up. Quit blaming the government. the oil companies, spectulators-and do something about it.
Politicians are not going to tell the truth-they want to be re-elected-you don't get elected or re-elected by putting out bad news.
The place to start is with your home-there are hundreds of ways to use solar energy-not high tech stuff-not expensive stuff-but with fuel oil and natural gas prices on the rise-it is a place to start-and now, before winter sets in is the time to do it. Think gas prices are bad-wait until you are paying high heat bills too.
It may get better-temporarily-but it isn't going away. Time to wake up and do whatever you can do. Carpooling is a good idea-corporations could set up carpooling for their employees-how about a tax credit for carpooling-corporate and personal.
How about a tax credit for reducing home energy usage-control the thermostat, insulate, add solar heat,-on and on. How about government loans or grants to do major home energy renovations-this would be a "targeted" stimulus package-not a throw money to the wind stimulus package like the olast one.
Time to WAke Up
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