What are gas prices in your area?

[RestlessSoul]

That would depend on allowing innovation and invention to flourish like once before.

Over time it's my opinion people have been regulated out of the motivation for even trying alternatives and trying it out in real life.

You think American’s addiction to petrol is caused by over regulation?

 

[Twilight Hue]

You think American’s addiction to petrol is caused by over regulation?

No. The regulations suppress innovation.

 

[We Never Know]

One of my classmates in university had a propane-fuelled pickup. He'd use it to go back and forth from school (in southern Ontario) to home (near Sault Ste Marie).

Anyone who's worried about finding a charging station for an electric car should definitely not drive a propane vehicle. Even then, he would always come back with stories of how sketchy it was trying to coast into the next refueling station on fumes... and since then, a lot of those gas stations have gotten rid of their propane vehicle refueling equipment.

My friend truck had a regular gas tank as well. He could switch to run on either. If he ran out of propane, he then switched and ran on gas until he could get this propane filled.

 

[Twilight Hue]

No. The regulations suppress innovation.

 

[Stevicus]

It's too bad they can't invent cars to run on a couple of AA batteries. That would be cool. Then you wouldn't have to worry about gas or charging stations. Just keep a supply of batteries in your glove compartment.

 

[Twilight Hue]

It's too bad they can't invent cars to run on a couple of AA batteries. That would be cool. Then you wouldn't have to worry about gas or charging stations. Just keep a supply of batteries in your glove compartment.

I'd rather see rechargeable that can be manually recharged on the go.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Personally, I have no idea.
I do know my wife puts just under 400 miles a week on her vehicle just going to and from work.
Though if there is an accident or road construction that number is higher.

How many miles do Australians put on their vehicles per week only driving to and from work?

Depends on the Australian (obviously...would be the same in the States).
But we have a country that is as large as the US, with about 10% of the population. Fair to say we commonly do very, very large amounts of kilometres. I was doing about 850km at one stage, but that's atypical. More recently I was doing about 60km a day, which isn't bad at all. Still...it makes me chuckle when Americans think of Texas as 'big'. Western Australia dwarfs it.

In any case, my point wasn't that Australian commutes are longer. It was more in response to a dismissal of higher prices in Europe as being not noteworthy since they have short commutes (anecdotally).
We ALSO have higher prices, and the logic doesn't hold up. Ultimately, US citizens pay a miniscule price for gas compared to most of the 'First World'.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

If he doesn't, I will.


2071.0.55.001 - Census of Population and Housing: Commuting to Work - More Stories from the Census, 2016


How Far Do Americans Drive to Work on Average?

16 miles = 25.7 km

That includes part time workers aged 15 and over, and deliberately excludes commutes of over 250 km as 'not representative'. Neither is the length of the commute the only factor in determining gas usage.

Consider:
• Time spent commuting by men and women in OECD countries 2016 | Statista

Again, though, my point wasn't 'hey, we drive the furthest'.
It was simply that dismissing overseas paying higher prices because of an assumption that the US has longer commutes and therefore 'needs' cheaper fuel prices is pretty flawed logic.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

What I hate is how fast prices go up at the drop of a hat and how slow they fall in comparison when market prices change.

It's almost the same complaint. We are always being gouged.

It's supposed to be, as they at least claim, set at a price that allows the station to fill their own tanks at current market values. It's so sensitive that when I worked at a gas station a couple times I was working it changed several times during my shift.
But here, prices can widely and greatly vary just by going a few blocks over.

 

[McBell]

I think this varies by location (and by brand of car).

A few years ago, they installed Tesla Superchargers up and down the 401 here in Ontario. You could comfortably drive your Tesla - but only a Tesla - from Detroit to Montreal without worrying about ever being far from a charging station.

I have some experience driving an electric car: at work, my department's vehicle is an all-electric Ford C-Max. Based on that experience, I would say that I could replace my current car with an electric car and have no change at all to my travel habits, even if I could only charge it at home overnight.

As it is, for any serious out-of-town trips, we use my wife's Flex as the "road trip" vehicle instead of my smaller car anyway, since the Flex holds more stuff and she can't drive stick (my car's manual).

We're starting to see more public charging stations and I've even been seeing a lot of apartment buildings that have at least rough-ins for charging stations in their resident parking areas, so I think you'll see it more and more viable for people to use an electric car as their main vehicle.

... and really, I think we're rapidly approaching the break-even point where, for most people, commuting with an electric car and renting a gas vehicle for the occasional long trip is going to be more cost-effective than driving a gas vehicle to work every day. For people with long commutes, they've probably already passed this break-even point.

I have already seen more and more charging stations in the bigger cities, but the last time I looked, the closest one to my home is 32 miles to the west.
I head that way once in a blue moon.

I understand it is my location and the population in this area being mostly Amish and Mennonite it will likely be a while before charging stations start showing up in this area.

 

[McBell]

I'd rather see rechargeable that can be manually recharged on the go.

A buddy of mine had an "electric" car that had a gas motor in it.
Though the gas motor only charged the batteries....

 

[Twilight Hue]

A buddy of mine had an "electric" car that had a gas motor in it.
Though the gas motor only charged the batteries....

I would love to see assisted pedel power vehicles such as e bikes or a generator that charges as you pedal along.

Only issue I have is the sheer lack of accommodation for alternative transportation that would give people the incentive to leave their cars and pursue a more fun and economical way to travel for the smaller things like a trip to a corner store or a bite to eat that's close by and not using something that costs money for licensing or permits either or gives the police a reason to pull you aside.

 

[McBell]

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

That includes part time workers aged 15 and over, and deliberately excludes commutes of over 250 km as 'not representative'. Neither is the length of the commute the only factor in determining gas usage.

Consider:
• Time spent commuting by men and women in OECD countries 2016 | Statista

Again, though, my point wasn't 'hey, we drive the furthest'.
It was simply that dismissing overseas paying higher prices because of an assumption that the US has longer commutes and therefore 'needs' cheaper fuel prices is pretty flawed logic.

I think it's still a fair assumption that the US generally has longer commutes, but based more on the American appetite for sprawl than sheer size.

In Texas, McKinney would be considered a bedroom community for Dallas-Fort Worth. The commute from McKinney to Fort Worth is about 100 km.

How many people commute from (quickly googles), say, Breton Bay to Perth?

 

[Twilight Hue]

I would love to see assisted pedel power vehicles such as e bikes or a generator that charges as you pedal along.

Only issue I have is the sheer lack of accommodation for alternative transportation that would give people the incentive to leave their cars and pursue a more fun and economical way to travel for the smaller things like a trip to a corner store or a bite to eat that's close by and not using something that costs money for licensing or permits either or gives the police a reason to pull you aside.

It's just sad to see the zeal for green transportation and when people jump on the bandwagon and start utilizing green transportation, they are inevitably discouraged for doing so.

As from this reddit post by someone riding a Max, it's not just something involving the U.S. it's everywhere.


https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricScooters/comments/g408h9/just_got_pulled_over_by_police_in_sydney/

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I have already seen more and more charging stations in the bigger cities, but the last time I looked, the closest one to my home is 32 miles to the west.
I head that way once in a blue moon.

I understand it is my location and the population in this area being mostly Amish and Mennonite it will likely be a while before charging stations start showing up in this area.

Most people with electric cars install a charging station at home. Charging overnight covers all the power you need for your commute and regular errands.

(I realize that installing a charging station at home may not be feasible for a lot of people who rent)

 

[We Never Know]

View attachment 50665

Its was called the Tama Senior
NISSAN | ZERO EMISSION | History | Tama Senior EMS

Which was an offshoot from the 1947 Tama
Long before LEAF: the 1947 Tama electric car

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I think it's still a fair assumption that the US generally has longer commutes, but based more on the American appetite for sprawl than sheer size.

In Texas, McKinney would be considered a bedroom community for Dallas-Fort Worth. The commute from McKinney to Fort Worth is about 100 km.

How many people commute from (quickly googles), say, Breton Bay to Perth?

Sorry, couldn't tell you with any accuracy.
Closest I could say would be places like Bacchus Marsh or Geelong, where people regularly commute to Melbourne.

Bacchus Marsh is just under 70km, Geelong is about 75km or so.

The difference here (I'm guessing) is the lack of close larger cities. Typically we have an employment hub (eg. Melbourne) surrounded by a sprawl of residential suburbs.

Melbourne is 2453km2. 32nd largest city in the world.
Population density is just 1,500 people/ km2 ( ranked 955th).

Meh, anyway. Getting off topic.
My point here was the dismissing overseas fuel prices due to the relative length of American commutes, and therefore stating that Americans 'need' cheap fuel more than others is a mistake.

If you disagree with that I'm happy to discuss further.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

I buy 95 for my old Rav 4 and it costs around $1.60/litre here, but that is in a regional area. Cheaper in the city. We have no public transport so gotta have a car, or catch the private bus...also expensive

Wow, I feel sorry for y’all down under, too.

Currently (subject to change, of course), 1.00 US$ = 1.20 C$ = 1.28 AU$

We need a world government (which no doubt would hurt us here in the USA, but so be it)!

Fortunately, IMO, one is coming!


Thank you all for your input, @lewisnotmiller,
@9-10ths_Penguin, & others.

 

[We Never Know]

Wow, I feel sorry for y’all down under, too.

Currently (subject to change, of course), 1.00 US$ = 1.20 C$ = 1.28 AU$

We need a world government (which no doubt would hurt us here in the USA, but so be it)!

Fortunately, IMO, one is coming!


Thank you all for your input, @lewisnotmiller,
@9-10ths_Penguin, & others.

I don't ever seen a world government happening in my time or soon after. Too many want to be and think they should be the ruler/king.