What does gas have to go up to for people

[Le Taz Hot]

to start thinking about alternate methods of transportation? I mean, really, gas is now, what, $3.00+ a gallon? Does it have to go to $5.00? $10.00 before we start talking once again about things like public transportation, carpooling, riding bicycles, walking, scooters? Look, I understand these are not options that are available for many people but I think they are options for a lot of us. I recently started taking the bus to/from work and running errands on the weekends and I'm saving a FORTUNE! $35.00 for a bus pass that is good for an entire month of unlimited ridership.

I was talking with a lady in a check-out line the other day who was bemoaning the price of gas. I asked her if she had ever explored riding the bus at least to/from work. Her answer: "It's too inconvenient." I thought, "Fine, then don't bitch about the price of gas -- this is YOUR choice."

What do you think? Are Americans just too spoiled or lazy to consider alternative methods of transportation or do you think there will be a point in which people start leaving their cars at home?

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. I think that at $7, Americans will finally, seriously balk

[mtnester]

2. The minute it goes over $5.00...riots

that's my call, and I am sticking to it...especially if it happens when it is warm out.

[BIgJohn83]

8. Interesting call...traditionally when the Temperature goes up...

tempers go up... it'd be sad to see/experience...conditions seem to be right for some rioting to take place... all the people need its the right catalyst...is that catalyst $5 a gallon?

[mtnester]

14. I think yes....especially for younger folks (and everyone else barely

making it)

Look, mortgages and all aside....the catalyst for young voters will be when gas per gallon equals minimum wage per hour...here in Ohio that is $5.15 per hour. Think about it.

[Extend a Hand]

17. I have read

when that when a gallon of gas reaches the (effective) minimum wage hourly wage. We'll have severe economic problems-- many of those making the minimum would have a net loss from working.

[mtnester]

28. Yes, because there are taxes taken out, so net loss n/t

[Initech]

21. I'm with you on that one. $5 / gal = riots

Let's hope something seriously BAD happens to Lee Raymond in the process, the man is fucking scum.

[paparush]

40. Riots? In America? Please....Only race sparks American's to riot...

Most americans are too dumb and/or lazy to actually riot. Oh sure, we might write some strongly worded letters, make a few phone calls, hell, we might even march up and down Main Street carrying signs. But riots? No way. Takes far too much energy. And, we might miss an episode of Lost or American Idol. Or, we might get arrested and lose our job.

Personally, I'd love to see riots...I'd love to see washington under siege from millions of diminished middle class and poor folks. But I'm not going to hold my breath...

[Deja Q]

3. Or why this didn't happen during the 1980s...

[elehhhhna]

4. Get a locking gas cap,

[Warpy]

5. I got my scooter just after Bush stole the office

because I knew what was coming. It was my last new purchase because I knew I had a spell of unemployment coming, too. I just lasted 3 1/2 years longer than I thought I would, but that's another sad story.

Scooters aren't for everybody, but they're great for those of us who live in small cities with shitty public transportation. My car is for hauling stuff and for long trips. The combination has worked well and very economically for me. Plus, that scooter is FUN.

I thought nothing of spending an hour each way when I worked in Boston. That city had rail transit and I got a lot of reading done. It was a great way to wake up before a shift and to wind down after one. I found I could sleep right away when I got home after a 12 hour night shift, something that wasn't the case when I had to drive to and from work. Driving left me stressed out and far too awake.

However, some people resent the time transferring between buses to get to work. It also sucks when a bus doesn't show up, something that rarely happened with rail transit unless there was a blizzard. Employers are going to have to start cutting people some slack if more of them start riding bus systems.

[HockeyMom]

6. I would gladly give up driving to take a bus

I absolutely DETEST driving, but I have to get to work and don't have the luxury of either mass transit OR car pooling (don't live near anybody).

I cannot walk or bicycle 35 miles a day either (in SNOW????).

[Le Taz Hot]

10. As I said, it's not an option

for everyone but maybe this would be the time to start pressuring our elected officials to put more $$ into public transporation and less on freeways (which only exacerbates the problem). Wouldn't it be nice if you could hop on a light rail and get to your destination? California's been "talking" about light rail for years and yet, we continue to build frickin' freeways which are gridlocked 45 minutes after they're completed.

[redwitch]

11. Rural folks who live in the boonies have it the hardest.

Wait til you see what food costs go up to now that farmers are paying so much for their fuel. $3- 4 for a head of lettuce? $6 for a gallon of milk? Many will just not be able to produce anymore. We are in for tough times, even if we drive hybrids or walk to work!

[Broken_Hero]

15. agreed...

I'm in rural SW Missouri, the farmers/loggers in this area, are pissed...because in truth, its Diesal that most of them use, and Diesal is usualy ten cents more than the usual unleaded. My friend Brian, who owns his own sawmill, cuts through 500 gallons of diesal a week...its rough times...I would love to have public transit, my wife travesl 90miles a day, 45 to work, 45 back, its our only option, unless she decides to live at the office...

[Sinti]

33. Tell your friend to look into bio-diesel. It might cut him a break n/t

[Broken_Hero]

37. I will, thanks...:)

He is looking for anyway to to deal with the high prices...

[Le Taz Hot]

18. Well, that's a whole other thread, isn't it?

I live in the central San Joaquin Valley and I remember the last time this happened (1973/74). Remember how the oil embargo triggered outlandish inflation, including and especially commodities? Remember what happened to THOUSANDS of family farms? They went under. Remember who bought up all that farmland for pennies on the dollar? ADM and similar corporate farming concerns. These guys are salivating at the prospect as we speak.

[redwitch]

7. Drive offs are increasing in New York (at least they are upstate)

People simply fill up and drive away w/o paying if they think it's too expensive.

[cassiepriam]

9. I am beginning to think that nothing, absolutely nothing will

get the American people upset or angry.

[redwitch]

12. I saw a man bitching at a sales clerk today

gas station/convenience store. He was PISSED! Like it was her fault. :eyes:

[cassiepriam]

16. Oh they will do that, but get pissed at Bush, never. nt

[muntrv]

13. $4/gallon.

Maybe then people will start demanding bio-fuels.

[HockeyMom]

20. will be by Memorial Day

if it goes up 12 cents in one day? You have to remember something. These stations don't get deliveries every day. I was friends with a station owner. This means they are jacking up the prices when they paid LESS for their shipments days ago.

Price gouging.

[muntrv]

31. My stepfather also owns gas stations.

It's the guys at the top that who get the money.

[gollygee]

24. I read an article that said $4 was the number

or maybe it was in the documentary, "The End of Suburbia." Or both.

Anyway, that number was arrived at because at that point it won't just be the cost of gas - it'll be the cost of everything else that involves transportation (which is virtually everything). Food will be a big issue as far as prices go because transportation is a big issue as is use of petroleum-based products in agriculture.

[SmokingJacket]

19. Unfortunately, a bus pass for each member of my family...

would cost much more than gas for our one car. In fact, a round trip ticket to the grocery store, with my two kids, carrying my own groceries, waiting for the once-an-hour bus, costs $8. I'd LOVE to take the bus more -- and I used to when I was single and it was cheaper -- but it makes no sense, economically or logistically.

[Le Taz Hot]

25. And of course, that's up to you

but will you be saying the same when gas goes up to $5.00 a gallon?

[SmokingJacket]

35. Well, if gas were $8 a gallon...

I would only save money if a trip to the store took a whole gallon. Which would mean my car would have to only get 10 mpg. I drive an old station wagon, and it gets about 20, I think. I only fill up twice a month, if that, so I don't keep real careful track.

Look -- I'm a public transportation buff from way back. I lived on Greyhound and Amtrak when I was young. But sadly, our public transportation system in this country STINKS for most people. If you're a childless person in a city -- great. But if you're rural, have a family, have a comlicated work situation, or are physically frail in any way, taking the bus is apt to be both more expensive and prohibitively inconvenient -- like walking down a rural highway at night in a snowstorm inconvenient.

We need to pump more money into methods of getting people around that are more sane than the one-gas-guzzling-car-person thing we've become dependent on over the years. Or, at the very least, we should make oil companies subsidize public transportation...

[Book Lover]

22. A lack of infrastructure is not the same as being lazy

For instance, were I to use public transit to go to work, it would take me three hours (2.5 more than right now) and cost more ($16/day for the bus; $7.60/day to operate my car including insurance). With those numbers, why should I use public transit? Please note that I am NOT against public transit at all; as a native New Yorker, I know the pleasure of being be car-free.

Have you thought about becoming involved with your local public transit authority in a public citizen advisory capacity? You sure seem to have the get-up-and-go for it! :-)

[Le Taz Hot]

26. I think I stated in my OP

that it's not feasible for everyone. And yes, I've been, er, "involved" for 30 years. Good goddess, the local officials around here hide under their desks when they hear I'm on the phone. Not that that's ever stopped me, you understand. :evilgrin:

[cynatnite]

23. Part of it are the rotten alternatives....

It's a pain in the ass not to be able to go when I want to go. If we had a good public transportation system, I'd use it in a heartbeat.

Most places don't offer decent public transportation.

There is incentive not to use drugs, not to drink and drive, not to over eat and a lot more. But what do you see on television, read or hear on the radio about gas conservation?

To me, saying 'drive less' is about as useful as 'just say no'.

[Le Taz Hot]

29. Perhaps you can show me where *I* said

drive less. Read the OP again. I also acknowledged it wasn't an option for everyone. I have asthma and there are days I can't even walk across the room, much less walk to a bus stop.

[cynatnite]

32. I apologize...I was bitching :)

I do get frustrated because the current gas prices have hindered my ability to go where I want when I want. I really wish for good national public transportation. Sadly enough, It'll probably never happen.

[kahleefornia]

27. I'm aiming lower than most

I'd say $3.50 to $4.00. Personally, I will be taking the new Orange Line (San Fernando Valley) once it hits $3.50. That's when the bus pass cost starts to pay off over my gas expense to and from work. The bus is great - except that it takes longer than driving, even compared to the LA 101 freeway! So, as it is today, it would save me neither time nor money. I only need one of those things to pay off to make me switch.

What gas prices have been doing over the past year is very interesting - in a horrible kind of way. They shoot up for a short time, then go down again. They never go back down to where they were before - but people still get the impression that prices decreased, so everything must be OK. They seem to notice this pattern less than they would notice a gradual, but steady increase. So $3.50/gallon for a sustained period of time (a good month or so) would do the trick, I think.

[mcscajun]

30. Depends on your distance from work, the logistics involved in getting

there, and the length of your commute.

Seriously. Everyone's economics are personal to them. There's no one magic figure that'll flip everyone.

In my case, I'd already explored the possibility of a bus. There's one about two blockc from my house, that would drop me about five blocks from work. Cost: $3.00 per day. Miles from my house: 7.5 one way, for a total of 15 miles per day. At 34 MPG, only factoring in gas/oil, it's still cheaper to drive than to "bus it", and I'm there faster than I could be on the bus. YMMV.

We can bellow all we want, but we still aren't paying anything close to what the Europeans have been paying for YEARS for "Petrol". We're looking down the barrel at reality and there isn't anywhere to hide from "Peak Oil" and the price hikes. We'll all be crunching the numbers and making choices as the years go on.

[AndyTiedye]

34. It Is The Alternatives That Are Deficient

Are Americans just too spoiled or lazy to consider alternative methods of transportation

No. If you build it we will come.
Surely we have the means to bring our transit to the standard prevailing in Europe.

Poland has a much better public transportation system than we do.

Good transit systems, what few there are in the US, attract plenty of riders (and are attracting even more now).

Of course, living in a transit-friendly area is no help if work isn't,
and the current job market has forced many to search farther afield for work.

Those who can afford more fuel-efficient cars are buying them.
It seems like almost all the really new cars on the road around here are Priuses.

Ridership on all public transportation systems is up, but that is not an option for most.
Housing near transit is very much in demand, even by people who can afford the gas, if rents are any indication.

Bicycling is an option for some. Weather is often an issue, and automobile traffic nearly aways is.
Freeways are generally a barrier to bicyclists -- we're not allowed on them,
and there is often no way to get across them without going miles out of they way
(and then the roads that do get freeway overpasses are full of busy ramps --
and traffic that thinks it's still on the freeway -- that make them really
dangerous for cyclists at rush hour).

[shadowknows69]

36. anyone own a Segway?

I'd seriously consider using one all spring/summer/fall to get to work. Want to know if it's viable.

[Broken_Hero]

38. I started

worrying when the price was around 1.90, my wife and i started cutting back on driving, no more driving unless we had a purpose aka bills, groceries, work...With it as high as it is now, i'm surprised W isn't hanging from a tree, I don't know how much higher its going to have to get to make (more) people take action...heaven knows, at 1.90 i was worried, now...now, now...i'm pissed...I have been writing K. Wilson/and Roy Blunt each week that gas was over 2$ a gallon(since last summer til present)...I don't know what more I could personally do, besides spread awareness...

[high density]

39. I just signed a lease for an apartment about a 1/2mi from where I work...

That wasn't my primary reason for renting the unit, but it was a decent bonus.