Learn How To Save Gas With Trip Planning Strategies
by Green Living on March 21, 2009
in Eco-Friendly, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
In early August of ’08, a Southern California newspaper quoted a young woman who observed an advertised price of $3.97 a gallon for gas as saying, “Now isn’t that a nice price?” Why in the world would she say such a thing?
The reality is that in the last six months she had seen the price at the pump smash through what experts had called the “$4 barrier” and rocket to as high as $5.39 in her area. A price per gallon with a three as the first number looked pretty darn good to her and others.
Americans need to power up their education and learn about saving gas. The truth is that the only way to reduce gas prices, in the short term, is a decline in demand that would have an impact on both the price of gasoline and its source, a barrel of oil. There are a number of resources available on the Web to provide us a wealth of information about steps we can take to save gas. Some are from “entrepreneurs” telling you about running your car on water and others from various AAA Clubs, provide links to information from government and university sources.
The information available ranges from common sense to just plain brilliant. Common sense tells us that slowing down will save on gas. The routing strategy of UPS to avoid time in left turn lanes is ingenious. It plays into one the best recommendations for saving gas and money. If tens of thousands of Americans began to practice the art of trip consolidation and route planning, their gasoline usage would be significantly reduced. Rather than a trip to grocery store one day, a trip to the cleaners the next and the movie rental store the next day, pool these tasks and do them all on one day in one trip.
A recent example was a trip to shop for “necessities” and advertised bargains. A few minutes of planning laid out a trip to Blockbuster, Longs Drug, Lowes, Sprouts Market, Vons Store and the Shell Station. There was only one wait in a left turn lane and the car was back in the garage in slightly over two hours. Five days of movies, sale and coupon groceries, prescriptions, a new coffee maker plus gas and a car wash covered in one loop out and back form the driveway.
Try setting a goal like “we will cut the number of times a week the car leaves the garage by 50%” and then utilize trip consolidation and route planning to maximize each trip and learn about saving gas and money.
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