Good News: Gas Prices Will Continue to Rise
Pain at the pump. That’s how many are referring to the record gas prices we are currently experiencing. I got my own taste of this “pain” just last night as I stood at the pump and filled our car with gas. I watched the numbers tick over and over and over until it reached an amount I hadn’t seen before when pumping gas and my mind drifted to the number of hours I would need to work to pay for this full tank.
According to this article by the Chicago Tribune, these prices aren’t going to drop anytime soon. “It’s not going to be a one-year blip and go away like the Internet bubble,” one commentator is quoted as saying. In fact, with the emergence of China and India as economic powers there have been predictions that gas could hit $7 a gallon in the US (currently I believe it is about $4). Now that would be painful.
To be honest, though, I am happy to see high gas prices. Why? Because it is the only way I see a widespread change in attitude to cars and driving coming about.
The Pain
One of the most personally meaningful articles I have written on this blog is Feel the Pain, Then Make the Change. The point of the article was this: sometimes we need to experience pain to make positive changes in our life.
There is no doubt that there are some people experiencing financial pain at the moment, particularly in the US where the economy is shakier than me standing in front of a room full of people and house prices have drastically fallen in many parts of the country. Now, I want to state here that I don’t wish people any additional financial pain, but at the same time it is clear to me that there needs to be a change in both peoples’ driving habits and the types of vehicles we are driving. For example, having relocated to North America from Australia a little under a year ago, I am staggered but just how much bigger everything is over here, in particular the vehicles that people drive.
Changing Habits and Technology
Recently, the New York Times published this article titled Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit. The title says it all really. In recent years some people have begun to use mass transit as they have become more aware of the environmental issues we face. But it has taken record gas prices to send people surging to mass transit:
Mass transit systems around the country are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats were once easy to come by. Parking lots at many bus and light rail stations are suddenly overflowing, with commuters in some towns risking a ticket or tow by parking on nearby grassy areas and in vacant lots.
In fact, according to Clarence W. Marsella, chief executive of the Denver Regional Transportation District, “we are at a tipping point” when it comes to people catching mass transit. Now that is good news.
The move to mass transit is not the only positive change to occur due to the high gas prices. Car pooling, riding a bike to work and a shift to smaller vehicles are becoming more and more common. And as consumers demand vehicles with greater fuel efficiency, the motor companies have a greater incentive to invest in technology that will meet this demand.
What are your thoughts on the high gas prices? Have you been forced to change any of your habits? Please share your thoughts and/ or experiences in the comments below.
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23 Comments
May 19th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
It used to be that a huge SUV was a status symbol around where I live. Now the little tiny Smart Cars are the coolest thing around and we feel sorry for the poor souls that can’t get rid of their giant SUVs. Times are changing. I got gas today and paid more for a tank of gas than I have ever in my life. Luckily I only have a four-mile daily commute. There has definately been a shift among my neighbors to use mass transit. Yes, the high gas prices will force us to change our ways for the better - but I will still miss the freedom to drive wherever I wanted to go and not worry about how much it was going to cost. I think those days are over.
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May 19th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Hmm…petrol prices here in NZ have just touched $2 a litre but it’s still cheaper than public transport so the only changes we’ve made are to drive a little less. If I didn’t have the baby I’d just run to work as it’s quite close but yeah…
Andrew is getting fits last blog post..Two nice runs
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May 20th, 2008 at 12:33 am
Hey,
well, I am not from America, but from Germany and the situation over here is nearly the same. Gasprices raised in the last months. 1 litres costs about 1,50 euro (about 2,32 dollar). So more and more people are thinking about their driving-habits.
I think we have smaller cars, than you have. When people buy a new car, they first look at the consumption.
I even do not own a drivers licence. Because it’s too expensive to drive car and because I don’t need it! I live in Hamburg. Big city with an exellent infrastructur. I can get from any point of the city to any other point by bus, underground-train or speed-train within 30 minutes. And it’s not that expencive (70 euros a month and i can go where and whenever i want).
And if I visit my girlfriend who lives in another city, some kilometres away, I also go by train, having my “Bahncard” which lowers the ticketprice to 50%. So I only bay 8 euros!
I don’t know the situation in America, but over here you can easily go anywhere by train or bus, save the environment and even save some money by not buying gas. Oh and some busses here in Hamburg even drive with hydrogen instead of gas! Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Greetings
Maurice
maurices last blog post..Hilfe bei Kopfschmerzen und Co.
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May 20th, 2008 at 6:10 am
In a way, I guess being shut in as a caregiver is a blessing in regard to gasoline prices. I do drive a van, a necessity as my housemate is in a wheelchair, but it’s five years old and doesn’t have 20,000 miles on it yet. Still, we are on a tight budget and I just cringe when I do have to pull up to the pump. We’re at $3.79 a gallon of regular in our part of Fort Worth, Texas. Our neighborhood is bisected by a busy and dangerous four lane road, but I am working out ways to start doing some errands by bike. I imagine we’ll be at $4 a gallon in another month.
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May 20th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Peter - You are right that it often takes a little pain to get us to change our ways. It is unfortunate we all seem to be that way, but very true. Hopefully, the higher gas prices will bring about some needed changes here in the U.S. Particularly, I would like to see some new technology emerge. I think innovations in gas alternatives have been stymied in the past. There was too much money to be made in gasoline powered vehicles for change to occur and too little consumer interest. However, now the time may be ripe for this country to move away from our dependence on oil. As you suggest, the pain may be a good thing to help bring about a new attitude.
Jeff@My Super-Charged Lifes last blog post..How Much Money You Have Defines Your Life
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May 20th, 2008 at 6:33 am
A few years ago I used to drive a Honda Accord and traded it in for a Chevy Silverado due to moving out to the country. Now that we’ve moved back to Plano Texas and living “in the city”, we’re looking to trade my truck and my hubby’s Expedition in for something much more gas economical. Of course, we’ll also be weighing the cost of possibly having two car payments vs. keeping what we have, but all in all it looks like we’ll be making the change.
Lin Burresss last blog post..Prestonwood Baptist Church Minister in Plano Texas Arrested and Charged With Solicitation of a Minor
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May 20th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I just paid USD6.30 a gallon for fuel here in Australia which is difficult in a large country with small population that is quite accustomed to travelling very long distances by road to get anywhere (Peter’s home state is enormous!). I’m not sure where the tipping point is for Australians - I would have hoped we had reached it some time ago but it appears not. Public transport here is still not nearly as good as it needs to be - we need to look at the many good European examples of how this can work. The focus is still on driving a car around. People are starting to look for more fuel efficient cars - small diesel cars are now not shunned as some impractical, un-Australian experiment and are increasing in numbers. Smart cars are being seen more and more. Sales of the traditional Australian made V8 engined large sedans are declining in numbers.
My personal challenge is I live outside the city and commute 60 kms (~40 miles) to my office each day and then because I have a sales job I must travel around visiting clients for part of the time. I haven’t yet figured out how I could do all that by public transport, particularly in its current parlous state. The one thing I have started doing is to organise my life so that every third Friday I stay at home and work. I get all my non-client facing admin done. I hope to be able to move that to every second Friday within the next 6 months. I say hope because the whole thing is being done on the basis of “seek forgiveness not permission”!
Simons last blog post..Shunning technology…the pull of analogue for productivity
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May 20th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
this is the type of change i like to see:
http://gas2.org/2008/05/07/vw-.....y-in-2010/
The VW 1L is so named because, in theory, it only consumes one liter of fuel per 100 kilometers traveled. For those of us in the US, this translates into about 235 MPG. [...] It’s likely to use more fuel in real world use, but with that kind of mileage in testing it’s unlikely that anyone would complain about an “unsatisfactory 200 MPG.”
Skips last blog post..40 Tips
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May 20th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Hi Peter - here in Melbourne Australia the vehicles are getting frighteningly large too - it seems like every second car is a 4 wheel drive. As we live in an older suburb with narrow houses, sometimes it seems the cars are bigger than the houses!
My partner and I walk everywhere or catch public transport mostly - which is possible because we work form home mainly. But it’s also easier to catch the train than battle with the traffic. Petrol prices are skyrocketing here - but when I need to buy it (my mother lives in the country) I just do it. We were just laughing yesterday when we spotted a neighbour’s car at the railway station, which is only 10 minutes walk away - and she is a young, fit-looking person.
Well that was a grab-bag of unrelated thoughts! - oh well - cheers!
Robins last blog post..How to be a Man and a Woman Both At The Same Time
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May 20th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
You’re right, maybe this is what it takes to force “us” to rethink how we travel. Last year I began biking to work (9 miles one way). I did this originally as I was training for a triathlon. I really enjoyed it, and kept doing into the fall last year. This year, I have another reason with the rising cost of fuel. I hope to do this as much as I can. That said, when I look out on the road, it just doesn’t seem like traffic has gotten any lighter. Are the gas prices forcing people to make changes yet? I’m not sure.
Lances last blog post..When Bad = Good (or Great)
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May 20th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
[...] Good News: Gas Prices Will Continue to Rise : The Change Blog And the politicians should be taxing the stuff more… not less.. But in Australia as well as the US the pressure is on to lower govt taxes. [...]
May 21st, 2008 at 3:43 am
In large cities, yes a change in our perception on how we move about is great.
But in rural areas., a person may have to drive 35 miles to his 9.50 an hour job. It doesnt leaxe much else except mort., and utilities.
Also I work in advertising, my main source of revenue is generated by cotractors. Diesel is killing them and most are reluctant to raise cost.
I have a huge beeef. The seven sisters (oil co’s) had record earnings inthe first quarter , I have little confidence in our energy plans if we cant monitor oil co’s . The same applies to banking.
A last thought. The Chicago Food bank will not make it’s current delivery’s due to diesel being as high as it is. So many food pantries go without ,.How much more do Americans need to lose due to poor regulations?
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May 22nd, 2008 at 10:31 am
I wish the mass transit system is better here in Los Angeles area. Compared to Toronto, it’s pitiful here.
Rudys last blog post..Twitter’s Down and It Bothers Me
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May 24th, 2008 at 4:10 am
Smilie Saturday: Linky Love Weekend Roundup Second Edition…
It’s the beginning of a long holiday weekend, with Memorial Day coming on Monday, so I wanted to end this week with a Smilie Saturday Linky Love post to showcase some great articles I’ve been reading that I’m sure you will enjoy as m…
May 24th, 2008 at 9:51 am
We have a GMC Sierra truck we always used to use to tow the boat for our holidays at our northern property.
Not anymore.
My husband took the boat up with him (filling it with the $1.34 per liter premium gas a couple of weeks back), then left it there so we wouldn’t have to use the truck anymore.
We’re sticking to our little Civic, and even that just for getting to work and back.
Errands can be done close to home, benefitting the smaller businesses by taking some of the money from the malls and larger stores, which are a drive away.
Thank goodness, the weather is warmer, the season is right for walking and biking.
In some ways, seeking to improve our bottom line as far as using less gas is concerned, is going to help our health, and that of our children, at the same time.
Always look for the good.
It’s there–sometimes it’s just hiding!
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May 27th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Change?
I have traded in both vehicles, swapped every light out in the house, bought high-efficiency, energy-star applicances (including a ceiling fan), sealed up my house’s thermal envelope, found and use an excellent ‘low-flow- waterhead in the shower… ‘bought ahead’ for 3 mos worth of non-perishables (changed our consumption habits), set up a web log and am chronicling it all…
We’re hoping for the month when these investments all pay off. We’re reporting our monthly utilities bills, and I invite you and your readers to come on over and learn about specific recommendations from our experiences.
Peace,
James
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June 12th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
[...] vehicle), but a car that also gets good gas mileage. I’ve come to terms with the fact that gas prices will continue to rise, and the cost of filling the gas tank isn’t likely to drop anytime soon, with predictions of [...]
July 11th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Gave up a Jetta diesel, Plymouth Reliant wagon, Microsoft software and my 35mm film camera on retiring, in order to adapt to a lower pension income. Bought myself a bike, a digital camera and switched to Ubuntu software (free on net). Suffered like a drug-addict going straight for about six weeks, finally I gave in and adapted. Soon found that I was actually ahead of the game! I have more time for everything, no hidden expenses, and actually can put money from a meager pension in the bank! I just don’t seem to need money anymore so it piles up! The average American may be in for a gasoline price forced slowdown much as I have just gone through in retiring. They may be delighted with the results! We are a free people, once we unhook from over-consuming.
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August 5th, 2008 at 1:47 am
It’s a good thing if you own some oil futures or invested in an energy index! A majority of us though are feeling what you’ve dubbed ‘The Pain’.
Nicholass last blog post..The Security Provided By Auto Bill Of Sale Forms
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