Okay, so you’re using all the tricks up your sleeve but the price per gallon of gas is still killing your budget on your daily commute. What can you do? Get creative:
- Public transportation – Take a bus, a train, a subway. My mom, who is 79, is a seasoned traveler of Greyhound. My husband and I have taken a bus to sporting events and plays in Seattle. You can’t beat the price of parking. We’ve used public transportation in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. as well as Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to name a few. If a city has a good transit system, we’ll use it.
- Share a ride – Join a car or a vanpool for your commute to work. Share a ride to the beach or the baseball game. Check out eRideShare, carpoolworld.com, RideShare or GoLoco.
- Share a car -Zipcar (Flexcar and Zipcar are now one car-sharing program, operating as Zipcar) is the most well-know but you can find more localized companies on carsharing.net.
- Bike to work – Depending on the length of your commute and whether you can safely bike it, this might be an option. For commuting tips see Commute by Bike.
- 4-day work week – Depending on your company and the kind of job you do you may be able to change to a four 10 hour per day work week. This alone would save you 20 percent on the cost of your commute.
- Telecommute – If your company has a Virtual Private Network (VPN) you may be able to hook up your home computer or take your work laptop home and work from there. Working from home one day a week would save you money.
- Virtual meetings – Not every meeting has to be conducted face-to-face. Use technology like WebEx or NetMeeting to conduct meetings.
- Compare gas prices – If you need to fill up your gas tank, search GasBuddy.com or GasPriceWatch.com by zip code or city and state to get the lowest prices in your area.
Resources:
- carpoolworld.com
- carsharing.net
- eRideShare
- GasBuddy.com
- GasPriceWatch.com
- Gearing up to bike to work
- GoLoco
- RideShare
- Zipcar
Related Posts:
- Hypermiling – More Miles from a Gallon of Gas
- Gas Prices Impact Driving – Get a Bike!
- Bike Commuting for Newbies
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Welcome to Verda Vivo. My name is Daryl Warner Laux.
RideSearch.com is also a great place to find a carpool. They are free and are nationwide.
Thanks for the comment and the additional resource! ~ Daryl
Personally, I use the train as much as I can for any travel superior to 40 miles (60 kilometers roughly). There are special tariffs for young people with 50 percent rebate.
Trains are cool as :
1. they are quite cheap (compared to oil prices)
2. you arrive directly in the heart of a city ( great for Paris)
3. you meet people,
4. you can work while doing 300 kilometers per hour (190 miles per hour…), which is the max speed of fast train here.
Nice post Daryl, keep up the good work and enjoy ( here the weather is rainy, rainy… it doesn’t stop )
When I lived on Long Island, NY, we used to take the train into New York City. I loved that method of travel. I’ve looked at taking the train from southern AZ to Seattle – not a direct route as it takes both a train and a bus to get there. I won’t give up though as trains are just as cool as you say! ~ Daryl
The thing that I really love with trains, with the above-mentioned facts, is their low carbon emissions.
I estimate I saved about 500 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions by taking the train instead of my Toyota Yaris, this year alone. That’s right, half a ton !
Your comment remind me on how cool NYC is… Wish I will get back there one of these days. (by plane… but there is no alternative…
)
Edouard, Wow, can you imagine how much could be saved if more folks took the train? I am more determined to figure out a way to make it work for me. ~ Daryl
oh yes, I can imagine pretty easily : people would cut in significant ways their CO2 emissions.
The difference of emission is easily understandable. Cars run only on oil and thus pollute a lot.
Our little Yaris emits only 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer. ( no idea how much that makes for pounds per miles ^^ )
Our trains, and especially the fast ones are 100% electric. And electricity here is 88 % low carbon ( 78 % nuclear, 10 % hydro )
So, the difference is indeed staggering.
If you are interested in the calculations I did on that, you and your readers might be interesting in reading those two articles :
http://www.elrst.com/2008/01/09/how-i-easily-avoided-76-kg-of-co2-emissions/
and
http://www.elrst.com/2008/02/15/keeping-on-decreasing-co2-emissions-by-using-the-train/
Keep up the good work, meanwhile, have a great week
Edouard, Thank you for the links to your posts. They are an excellent read. It is amazing how much CO2 you can save by changing your travel habits. Now that we’ve moved there are fewer public transportation options here. We do the best we can to reduce the number of trips to town and to combine errands for efficiency. I am looking forward to a new road that will be completed in several years that will link our housing development with a shorter route to shopping. With the planned pedestrian and bike path, we’ll be able to shop without a car. ~ Daryl
Thanks for appreciating my humble work Daryl, that makes me keeping on writing, despite the rest !
Those are all great things. These ideas will really help anyone think out of the box. People should really talk to their managers about working from home. Most are really for the idea.
Here are some other good ideas:
1. Change your air filter.
2. Check for gas tank leaks.
3. Use the correct seasonal tires.
4. Inflate your tires properly (usually 35psi).
5. Clear out your trunk.
6. Fill up when it is cool outside.
7. Drive a light-colored car.
8. Park in the shade.
9. Don’t top off your gas – it will spill.
10. Tighten your gas cap.
11. Use correct fuel grade for your car – check the owner’s manual.
12. Limit air conditioner use.
13. Roll up windows on the freeway.
14. Avoid roof hauls.
15. Don’t idle in the morning.
16. Turn off air conditioner, radio, and other electronics when you start your car/truck.
17. Plan your route away from traffic jams and construction.
18. Go the speed limit – driving at 70mph uses 20% more gas than 55mph.
19. Drive evenly on the gas pedal.
20. Avoid sudden stops.
21. Avoid idling while driving – 1 hour of idling will burn a gallon of gas.
22. Only use the right foot on the pedals.
23. Don’t weave in and out of traffic.
24. Accelerate before you go up a hill instead of on it.
25. Check local gas stations for discount days.
26. Fill up 3 days before holidays.
27. Fill up on near empty.
28. Look for member benefits – usually offer $0.03 off per gallon or more.
29. Look for credit card discounts.
30. Use public transportation whenever possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MlF1GJFLSI
http://www.62tipstosavegas.com
Thanks for the excellent gas-saving tips and the link to the website and video! We save $.10 a gallon by using our Safeway card but at 100 degrees we have to use the air conditioner. ~ Daryl