|
|
Post by nickv on Feb 18, 2008 19:17:37 GMT -8
Fewer drivers over a barrel In carpools, on bikes or at home,
people are breaking gasoline's gripBy Ronald D. White
Los Angeles Times Staff WriterFebruary 18, 2008 Sun Valley legal secretary James Eric Freedner got fed up with high gasoline prices. He put his 2003 Toyota Tacoma truck in the garage and switched to a Honda Nighthawk motorcycle for weekday commutes to Beverly Hills. He stopped driving to the beach on weekends and cut back on trips to Hanford and Fresno to check on properties he manages. He began grouping errands into one trip each Saturday. The trade-offs Freedner has made in the last year haven't necessarily made him happy, but they've reduced his gasoline consumption nearly 50%. And although he admits to feeling jittery traveling freeways on the Nighthawk, all the changes are permanent, unless gas returns to $2.50 a gallon. "The price was just eating up what I earned," said Freedner, 57. "This is the best thing I can do to make ends meet." Americans are getting serious about using less gasoline, confounding some economists who have argued that most people can't reduce their driving much because they have to get to and from work and make those necessary trips such as shopping and chauffeuring their children around. The truth is more complicated, according to some energy experts: When the price reaches a certain threshold or the driving reaches a peak point of aggravation, people are willing to give up personal space and independence.  "There is an awful lot of what might be called discretionary driving," said Edward Leamer, an economist with the UCLA Anderson Forecast. "Raise the price high enough, and you will see that there is a lot more that people can do." Follow this link to Read More..................................... Clip art provided by CommuteSmart.Info... CommuteSmart.Info used to have a bunch of good rideshare clip-art that was available for public use. I downloaded some of this clip art several years ago from the old Web site, but it looks like the old clip art is no longer there. I'll have to grab whatever artwork I have and forward it to the TTC Webmaster.
|
|
|
|
Post by nickv on Feb 29, 2008 21:27:58 GMT -8
Mapping out Ways of Getting Around that Pain at the Pump! That $70 Monthly EZ Transit Pass will sure be tempting now! Doing the math, with prices like this,
it will cost around $50 to fill up a Ford Focus.Well everyone, we're approaching spring and the price of gas is going up again...likely to break the $4.00 mark with the price of oil over $100/barrel going into the weekend. We're going to hear a lot of head aching over the price of gas... I think what's going to happen is that ridership on our transit lines will once again skyrocket as they have before, but to a much larger scale since gas prices are projected to be extremely expensive. I remember a couple of years ago when gas prices peaked at $3.50+/gallon during the spring. The news reported that people were frustrated, were looking for a break, and found it in mass transit.  I think Metro reported a few years ago that the increase of ridership on the rails were up something like 14%, and a 9% increase in the number of people taking the bus due to hikes on gas prices. Back when the Metro Day Pass was $3, one television news channel reported that gas prices were above the $3.00 mark, and for that price, one can ride on local/rapid Metro buses and trains, all day long. Riverside Transit Commuterlink buses, most of which provide a transit alternative for the super commuters of the Temecula Valley, saw very high ridership gains too when gas prices climbed. One of their commuter lines which connects Temecula to the Corona Metrolink Station has a farebox recovery ratio of 27%, which is very high for a 35 mile commuter express route. Metrolink ridership went up too, especially on the IEOC Line. People have been telling me that the IEOC line often becomes standing room only during rush hours between Orange and Tustin. Since many of us including myself live in a car-dependent-ville, taking mass transit won't work for all trips, but I have done the following which has helped me greatly save on gas. 1. One of the things I've done in the past to save on gas is combine my errand trips with a walking exercise. If I have errands to run and the stores I have to go to are in the same block, but in different shopping centers, I'll park the car in one of the centers, and walk from store to store. I try to budget enough time for the errand trip, so I'm not forced to rush and drive from one store to the next. If I have a lot of time to spare, I'll park the car about 1/2 mile shy of the shopping center, or even walk the whole way (about 1 mile each way).
2. Another thing I've done is when I have a situation with crowded parking lots and have other passengers in the car, I'll drop the passengers off at the front, and bring the car to the empty portion of the lot, which is usually about a 100 yard walk from the front of the location. That beats circulating around the lot for several minutes looking for a close spot to park.
3. If I'm asked to pick up fast food or medicine from the drug store and I'm alone, I avoid the drive-thru and go inside...even if it takes a bit longer. Based on past drive-thru experiences, the car runs idle from anywhere from 3-12 minutes at times, wasting gas. It's worse during the summer months. Experts report that if a driver expects the car to be stopped for more than one minute, turn the engine off to save on gas.
4. If I'm on the freeway, I never gun the gas or try to be "first in line". In fact, I usually drive with the traffic flow in the center lane. That's helped increase my MPG.
|
|
|
|
Post by nickv on Mar 1, 2008 23:26:00 GMT -8
I just read an article on increasing gas prices in the TTC eNewsletter. Look at this statement:Behind the recent increases is a tighter supply of gasoline, Langley said. Tesoro Corp. and Valero Energy Corp., two large refining companies, gave word last month that they would cut back gasoline production in California to boost prices, which had fallen from $3.37 in mid-November.
I can understand the need for a change-over period for the summer, but "to boost prices"  Can anybody explain that one? Or are the refining companies trying to get more people to rideshare since more service-sector employees won't be able to afford to drive to work?  |
|
|
|
Post by nickv on May 21, 2008 22:49:33 GMT -8
Gas Prices - $6.00 / Gallon?
Analyst: $6 gas could be less than two years away
Article - Seattle Big Blog
5/21/2008 - The price of regular unleaded gas broke the $4 mark
in several areas recently. Diesel is just about to break the $5 mark.
Several stations are selling diesel for $4.89 / gallon.
A lot of numbers get thrown around when it comes to the future of the world's oil markets. But one prediction by an analyst the New York Times calls the "Oracle of Oil" is downright scary.
Where is oil taking us? (Steven Nehl/P-I file)
Arjun N. Murti of Goldman Sachs believes a price surge will soon drive crude oil to $200 a barrel.
How would that affect you? Well, today the average recorded gas price in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett market is $3.91. That's with crude oil at over $135 a barrel, according to the New York Mercantile Exchange.
What would a gallon of gas cost if oil goes up to $200 a barrel? Six bucks.
That's bad enough for drivers. For airlines, it's catastrophic.
The more than 300 uniformed pilots lined up on East Marginal Way South Tuesday threatened to strike if the Alaska Air Group doesn't offer them a better contract.
But that's tough and getting tougher -- thanks to fuel prices. The company's fuel costs rose nearly 46 percent in the first quarter of this year and every $1 increase in the price per barrel of oil adds roughly $10 million to the company's annual operating costs.
And here's more disturbing news, from American Airlines: The nation's largest carrier says it will begin charging passengers $15 for their first checked bag, as well as cut domestic flights and possibly lay off thousands -- all to offset fuel costs.
Getting around could get a lot harder. "One of the biggest challenges our country faces is our addiction to oil," Murti told the New York Times.
Where do you stand?
|
|
|
|
Post by nickv on May 21, 2008 23:04:22 GMT -8
Congress grills oil execs on record pump prices
By Chris Baltimore - Reuters UK
The exchanges got personal.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday attempted to link record gasoline prices to cozy ties between President George. W. Bush - a former Texas oil man - and five big energy companies who logged $36 billion in profits in the first quarter of 2008.
For the second time this year, executives from Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp and three other big energy companies were called to testify before Congress to explain their record profits as gasoline prices hit a new record average $3.79 a gallon.
"The President once boasted that with his pals in the oil industry, he would be able to keep prices low," said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. "Instead, it is his pals in the oil industry who have benefited."
Five oil company executives held up their right hands and swore to tell the truth at the hearing, which also included ConocoPhillips and the U.S. subsidiaries of BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell.
Sen. Patrick Leahy:
Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois said to executives:
Sen. Arlen Specter:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein:
Oil company executives repeated a familiar mantra that crude oil markets - not profiteering at the gasoline pump - is the prime reason behind high prices.
"As repetitive and uninteresting as it may sound, the fundamental laws of supply and demand are at work," said John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Company.
U.S. crude oil futures hit a record $130.47 [$135 at the time of this post] a barrel on Wednesday, and have risen sixfold since 2002 as surging demand in China and other developing economies strained supplies.
That hasn't stopped Democrats in the Senate from pursuing punitive measures like higher taxes aimed specifically at the five companies who appeared at the hearing.
Earlier this month, lawmakers unveiled a new energy package that would revoke $17 billion in tax breaks extended to big oil companies and slap a 25 percent windfall profits tax on firms that don't invest in new energy sources.
Before the hearing started, protesters from the Code Pink organization, which opposes the war in Iraq, chanted anti-oil industry slogans and held up signs like "No War For Oil."
"Stop ripping off the American people," said one protester, aiming her voice at executives seated at the front of the hearing room. "Ride your bike to work, everybody."
(Reporting by Chris Baltimore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
|
|
joequality
Junior Member
Bitte, ein Bit!
Posts: 88
|
Post by joequality on May 22, 2008 13:32:02 GMT -8
Hopefully this will motivate people to get behind the CAHSR
|
|
|
|
Post by nickv on Jun 11, 2008 22:34:09 GMT -8
Dump the Pump Day - Thursday, June 19
You can Dump the Pump!
How? Public Transportation...that's how!
Metrolink - Want to know how many hours you have to work to pay to fill up your gas tank?
Click here to find out and then think of how Metrolink can save you time and money!
Foothill Transit is issuing Free Ride Coupons on their website at foothilltransit.org
for use on Dump the Pump Day, Thursday, June 19th. Interested
riders fill out a brief survey and then print out the special, one-
day coupon which they will show to their bus driver. The coupon
is good for free rides on Foothill Transit service all day on June 19th.
OCTA - Complete the pledge form and let us know you will be part of
the pollution solution by dumping the pump at least one day
during Dump the Pump Week. When you pledge, you’re
automatically entered to win one of these great prizes: gift
certificates, movie tickets, Dump the Pump T-shirts or Metrolink
Tickets.
Omnitrans - Riding Omni is affordable, convenient and
good for the environment. Try it for free (with coupon) on June 19 —
and find out just how easy it is to Dump the Pump on other
days, too!
RTA - That’s right! In honor of “Dump the Pump” day on
June 19, just send us your gasoline receipt for a June fill-up and
we’ll send you a free 7-Day Pass good on all Riverside Transit
Agency CommuterLink and local fixed bus routes. Offer limited to first 100 submissions.
MAIL RECEIPT TO:
Riverside Transit Agency
Attn: Free Bus Pass
1825 Third Street
P.O. Box 59968
Riverside, CA 92517-1968
NCTD - Visit us on National Dump the Pump Day, Thursday
June 19, at the following locations to receive a free Day Pass
(while supplies last):
- Carlsbad Village – Starbucks at 2924 Carlsbad Blvd., 6 - 9 a.m.
- Downtown Oceanside – Farmer’s Market on Pier View Way, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and Sunset Market at Tremont and Pier View Way, 5 - 9 p.m.
- Vista Village – Starbucks at 30 W. Main St., 6 - 9 a.m.
- Downtown Escondido – Starbucks at 320 W. Valley Parkway, 6 - 9 a.m.
San Diego MTS - Join MTS and Coca-Cola for our customer
appreciation events on June 19. Enjoy music, fun, prizes and
Coca-Cola beverages!
Old Town Transit Center - 6 a.m. - 8 a.m.
Channel 93.3 FM
Chance to win a pair of tickets to Sum 41
Fashion Valley Transit Center
6 a.m. - 8 a.m.
KGB 101.5 FM
"Bet-pay-off" with Bromo
Bayfront/E Street Station
7 a.m. - 9 a.m.
La Nueva 106.5 FM
CASH MACHINE!! PIOLIBANCO!!
La Mesa Trolley Station
6 a.m - 8 a.m.
Magic 92.5
Chance to win tickets to the San Diego County Fair and
Two pairs of Gabriel Iglesias tickets
|
|
Can anybody explain that one?