Are the ultra high gas prices hurting you?

leestevens

Just to chime in for Aust. I live in rural South Australia, THe price has just gone up to $1.52au/ L for petrol. In the nearest city (300 km away) the price reached $1.62au. The problem in the country here is once the price goes up it doesn't really go down again. Deisel is about $1.80/L, the problem with this is everything in Aus is transported by trucks, they then supposedly pass this on to their customers, which is then passed along again and being so far from a major centre it must be transported further.
I ride to work aswell, 7km there 7km home, it may not be that much but i figure that i would be saving about $20 in petrol for the week. We used to drive to Adelaide once to twice per month which cost about $30 each way in petrol, now it is about $40 each way. We do not go as often. Now the government here is talking about knocking off about 4cents/litre, what a joke, 4c/l saves about $2.50 for us when we fill our car from empty to full, about 65L.
Public transport is not an option either, it is there but only goes to the next town twice a day. To catch a bus to Adelaide costs $40 anyway so i might aswell drive. Even the PT in Adelaide is terrible, i have tried before and cannot work it out. My father in law who lives in Adelaide used to catch buses into the city, now he rides a motorbike, a lot more convenient and a lot cheaper.
I guess we are like America, we like big gas guzzlers and we have to drive everywhere. I would like to see Australia change but i cannot see it happening for a long time. There is now a lot of talk about bio-fuels, but this creates as many problems as it solves. Then there is the hybrid car, but these still use petrol. Ohwell petrol will be $2/L soon then people will really be screaming. It does not bother me anymore, i just fill up and don't even look at the price. It will be what it will be.

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leestevens@


http://www.riverlandcyclingclub.com/

Chavez

Already said by Pendejo, but I'm American, and for the most part proud to be one (remember, almost as many of us voted AGAINST the current idiot in chief as voted for him), and I can't disagree with your assessment.

I know the guys at work don't really "look down" on my bike commuting, but I'm pretty sure some of them think it's a bit weird and I generally get some good-natured ribbing about it at least once or twice a week.

Oh, and due to a holiday weekend on which a huge number of people travel, gas jumped up to the $4.10-4.20 per gallon range hereabouts.

alienator

Hearing Americans say "ultra high gas prices" is a laugh. It's about time the American "entitlement" to cheap gas ends.

Bro Deal

You are hurting? Don't you just go back to your walk in vault and chisel a few chips off your collection of gold bars? High gas prices are only a problem for the proletariat. A self-proclaimed member of the financial aristacracy such as yourself should not be worried about a piddling $3.79.

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

Bro Deal

No. It's due to an overly optimistic faith in free markets that has morphed into disdain and often outrage at any government attempt to forward plan for the long term. It goes far beyond automobiles and petroleum. You can see it in many aspects of America. Citizens, businesses, and government are incapable of planning for anything beyond a time horizon of a year.

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

cyclist2

no this side of the fence the state gov is closing down country rail sevices forcing, freight on to trucks

leestevens

Yeah, there is no rail here except the wheat train from one of our towns to the city. Many years ago (maybe twenty or so, i have only been living here for 4.5 years) there were trains from most major centres here to the city, they have all gone now. Atleast one train line was converted to a bike track which is about two km's long but cuts out the worst part of the highway at least.

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http://www.riverlandcyclingclub.com/

Crankyfeet

Interesting point I hadn't considered... that sounds generally correct. Though the US Federal and State governments have made large capital investments for the long term in highways, bridges, tunnels, dams, and ports.

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jhuskey

You can compare the US to Europe in many ways but when it comes to transportation we have no infrastructure for mass transportation and the distances do not compare.
Driving across one state like Tennessee can take all day.
We rely on trucking to move almost all goods including food ,so the price of fuel is only a small part of the equations.
Food prices have gone up dramatically.
We are not prepared for this in many ways. I have not been affected unless you call irritation "affected".

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TheDarkLord

Therein lies the problem IMO. For good or bad, you have developed infrastructure based on a model for individual rather than mass transportation, thereby making people more sensitive to the price of gas. If there was a good rail network, then a good chunk of freight can be moved by rail rather than by truck, which probably makes more economic sense when it comes to gas prices. The distance by itself shouldn't be a hindrance. There are other countries in the world where people travel thousands of km by rail; if the distance is too far, then there is always the option of flying.

Bro Deal

Most of that was done in the 50s. That sector of the U.S. is woefully underfunded today. Currently the most infrastructure development you can hope for is slight relief from overuse problems.

To tie this back to the auto industry, the Detroit businesses have failed to produce fuel efficient small cars even though it was obvious that the future would require them and the health of their business would also require them. They preferred to make primitive body on frame SUVs, which they could sell at huge markups to dumb people who didn't realize they were buying tarted up trucks. The executives in Detroit laughed at Toyota and Honda when both introduced hybrids. The Big Three now face the real possibility of bankruptcy.

Citizens purchased large, fuel inefficient vehicles and McMansions that required long commutes to get to their jobs. Not only do the autos require lots of gasoline at ever higher prices, the large houses require significant fuel to heat or cool. To make matters worse, many of the highest growth areas of the U.S. have been in regions such as Las Vegas and Phoenix, where severe water problems are expected and the heat makes air conditioning mandatory. Again, all this was easily forseeable.

During this, Government completely abdicated its responsibility to look out for the long term well being of its citizens and society. Hence we have tards driving around in H2s, which aside from their environmental damage and resource consumption are a massive threat to anyone they crash into. We have cities like Phoenix that have been built so spread out that efficient public transportation is impossible and the heat is so bad during the summer months that pedestrian traffic practically requires a Camelbak--even if one could walk around the city. By allowing unfettered growth without thought about the future consequences, the government has guaranteed that there will be huge disruptions to american society when cheap energy goes the way of whale oil.

All this stems from an article of faith of capitalism that is just as fallacious as the bedrock of Marxism. Karl Marx thought that people would be willing to work hard for the benefit of their fellow comrades, much like a giant extended family or a small tribe. Obviously that did not work out so well. Capitalism rests upon a belief that people are rational and they will make rational decisions. I think what has been repeatedly demonstrated is that people in the aggregate are often not rational and most value near term benefits over long term consequences. This flaw in capitalism combined with a near disbelief in market failures, which is found in much of the american business class, has resulted in a very large bill that will be extremely painful to repay and looks to be coming due now.

Beyond autos, a similar argument could be made with many other facets of american society. The consumer credit market for example. The government, through lack of regulation, has allowed americans to live beyond their means for a very long time.

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

limerickman

In fairness to America, it appears that US consumption of oil has actually decreased in real terms since 2004, according to Newsnight last night.

Given that driving, accounts for most US oil consumption, it would appear that the average American has reduced their dependence on car usage (and thereby oil consumption).

Begs the question - if car usage is down - how are Americans getting from A to B????

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

jhuskey

I try and watch some good porn before I fill up. It gets me better in the mood to get screwed.

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Pendejo

** Well said, Bro. What has ruined this country is the reduction of our value system to one simple element: profit. Because of this our culture sucks, our educational system sucks, and our government sucks. And a large percentage of our population is too ignorant to realize it.