When gas hits $5.00 a gallon

[movie_girl99]

what kind of changes will you make? I only drive about 8 miles round trip to work now but I'm considering carpooling. I live in the burbs so most grocery stores are within walking distance. I have already started consolidating my trips errands etc...my husband works 25 miles away and has spoken to another person about ride sharing. I try to remain optimistic that gas wont hit $5.00 but i'm losing my optimism as of late.

[growlypants]

1. when gas hit $5.00/gallon (and notice i said WHEN, not IF) I

wont be driving. SOL

[Eurobabe]

2. Swap sales territory with my colleague so I can

walk to work up the street. Ride my bike to the grocery store, use my husband's old Escort wagon vs. my Acura 6 cyl., his car gets upwards of 38 mpg.

Lastly, get the hell out the US, again -- this country is rapidly flushing down the fucking toilet. Will go back to Europe where at least they have transportation infrastructure. The US is totally screwed.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. When it gets to $5.00 I'm going to try and avoid the riots.

[DarkSim]

4. when gas hits 5$....

america will be in the same place europe was 3 years ago... Stop stressing.

[mikeytherat]

8. ...without the microcars and public transportation network...

and without the bulk of our pump prices being taxes to pay for the aforementioned public transportation network.

But, other than that, we'll be right where Europe was three years ago.

mikey_the_rat

[tazkcmo]

13. And other social safety nets....

Yup. Just like Europe three years ago.

[AllyCat]

15. Yeah except no mass transit infrastructure.

Guess I'll bike more. Did it all day on Tuesday and it felt great! There were almost more bikers on Tuesday than cars, and gas was only $3/gallon then.

[obreaslan]

29. Your argument is flawed....

I'm so tired of this "It's still better than Europe" crap. No it's not. They use the extra taxes on gas to fund the highways, mass transit and other social programs. Our gas prices fund CEO salaries and that's it.

Go ahead and mention that "at least our cars don't run on Nyquil" while your at it. :grr:

[newportdadde]

5. I'm going to work harder and consolidating trips.

As an example I want to get some grass seed to plant this weekend and my wife wants some safety covers for the stove knobs. Normally we would make two seperate trips out when there was less traffic. Instead I'm going to hit both of these after work tomorrow, I'll be fighting lake traffic to the ozarks(idiots) but at least I will save two trips.

[Skidmore]

6. My husband and I are both 20 mi one-way from work

and we carpool together--I put in extra hours at the office to accommmodate his schedule. We do our errands one evening per week after work. I'm not sure we can adjust further.

[Ganja Ninja]

7. I'm already looking at buying a econo car to ...

replace my Mazda truck. I get 22 mpg right now and I could save about 33% on fuel if I can get 30 mpg.

[mikeytherat]

23. mid-90's Ford Escort (I have a wagon with a five-speed manual)

35 mpg city and 42+ on the highway. You can get a good, low-mileage (50K or so) example for $2K tops.

mikey_the_rat

[whistle]

9. I already cut my driving to where I was getting two fill-ups per month

...about 34 gallons. My bill moving forward will be about $100.00 for transportation gasoline. I could cut my fuel usage further, but very marginally as I already do carpooling on certain personal trips. I guess the bus will have to become an option.

[Skink]

17. I'm down to 28 gallons per month.

[MADem]

10. I will use my mini car around town in winter, get a moped for fair wx,

...and save the BIG car (a subcompact) for that highway driving!

I have already cut my gasoline consumption to the bone--it is a rare month that I fill the tank more than once, and usually involves a long trip.

[LynneSin]

11. I'm already making the changes

I use to work with a cat shelter where I buy my cat food but that store is 8 miles out of the way. Now that I work in the opposite direction I'll be getting my catfood at a small store that I pass on the way to/from work. Their price for Royal Canin is about $1 more than Petsmart - but the savings on gas will be worth the extra cost.

I'm planning on doing all my necessary shopping on the way home from work. My gym, video rental, tanning salon and grocery store are all enroute. If I want to go to the mall or a bookstore they're within 1 miles off my normal course.

This weekend I plan to stay at home and save money & gas.

It sucks because communing would take about 90 minutes for what is a normally 20 minute ride. I have enough issues with my sleep that I'm not about to add in more commute time in jeapordy of my sleeping.

[tazkcmo]

12. Can't Tell Ya- Plausible Denial And All, Ya Know.... n/t

[converted_democrat]

25. Good luck with that.........Oh, and welcome to DU....

:hi:

[SmokingJacket]

14. We work at home and my kids walk to school...

we only use the car to run errands, get groceries, and take the kids to their activities -- which adds up.

I'm getting out the bike *today,* though, and will start thinking differently about how I go about getting stuff (a backpack full of groceries at a time, for example).

[ewagner]

16. We're parking

the Ford Explorer and we'll probably only use it to

1. Haul the trailer out to the dump
2. Get around when the snow and ice get on the roads.

We'll be a "one-car" family with our little Mazda Protege' (32mpg City, 42 MPG Highway)

[Arger68]

18. Out of work

Trucking industry is SCREWED!!!!!!

[movie_girl99]

19. i appreciate all of your replies

I wanted to get an idea of what others will do in the event.

[mark11727]

20. Cooper Minis will be selling for $50,000 a pop...

...while the Hummers and SUV behemoths languish on the lots.

Like I told my kid, we had our warning THIRTY YEARS ago (remember odd/even days and gas lines?), and IGNORED it.

[movie_girl99]

21. i actually saw a guy the other day with a spankin' new H2

with paper tags and all while my husband was getting gas. The guy looked about 25 and I said to myself WTF??? Who in their right fucking mind would buy one of those gas hogs at anytime but more than ever right now?

[bullwinkle428]

27. When you're 25 years old, you tend to think of yourself

as "10 feet tall and bulletproof". I'm sure he's thinking, "I may have to work 3 jobs to keep this thing filled up, but hey, at least I'll get laid more often..." :eyes:

[movie_girl99]

28. LOL..good point. n/t

[LiveWire]

22. gas has alrady hit $5/gal in Atlanta

So you might want to ask them

[DelawareValleyDem]

24. Can't change much, really

I have a well-tuned, relatively fuel-efficient car (Corolla), my driving habits are compatible with good fuel efficiency, and I've always walked/biked for short trips. I am being more persistent in my efforts to ride-share. I'm having more luck with this with transportation for personal business than with commuting to/from work. Many people where I work can't be consistent with their departure time and make stops on the way home.

[info being]

26. I'm already paying over $5 a gallon

It isn't such a big deal, really. Of course, I live in Europe.

[bluedog]

30. we'll be close to"out of business"

as our jobs require services to people for pest control in Fl.we have routes to run and they are not in the same areas.....we raise our prices once.up $5.00 but cannot raise any more.these customers are hit by rising taxes..electic.garbage.newpapers and food.most live on SS and cannot take another direct hit from any company...we'll have to let some go.because it would not be feasible for us to continue to drive 15-25 miles to provide service.......thanks bush!