Jeff Sturgeon of The Roanoke Times had a recent article (
"Higher gas prices arrive in area", 11/10/2007) on the increasingly high price of gas in the region, particularly the inevitability of reaching and staying at $3 a gallon. The article concentrated on the impact of these higher prices on businesses - as it becomes more expensive to transport goods, those costs are passed on to you in the form of higher retail prices of everything from bread to cab service. Recognizing that consumers pay for higher gas prices more than just every time they fill up is an important point to make; our entire economy, not just our personal transportation, is literally fueled by oil, and we're going to feel the pinch in more places than we might imagine.
The article cited several examples of people suffering from higher prices. Tellingly, one of the examples highlighted both the problem and the solution:
[Angie Rodkey] and her husband don't ordinarily eat out and her son, Ben, rides
in a carpooling arrangement to school with two other families.
"Maybe we should put Ben on the bus," she told her husband the other
day. After a brief discussion, their conclusion was, "No, let's see
what happens." Pressed for how she might save a few bucks if the next
fill-up and those beyond are also $55, Rodkey said she would probably
cut back on treating herself to what she calls "frivolous" shopping for
clothes and other treats.
Though this family is on the right track by having formed a carpool with other school-bound families, they could get much higher savings out of utilizing the bus, which is already making the trip anyways. Furthermore, if more families like the Rodkeys moved their kids back onto the bus rather than driving them to school, we could see a significant reduction in congestion and idling around schools, reducing harmful air pollutants and improving the overall wait time and reducing fuel consumption for everyone. It could also improve the efficiency of the school buses, making better use of the tax dollars that are already being paid into that system.
Unfortunately, in only two places over the course of the article were alternatives offered: Gabe Saker of Saker's Driving School was quoted as suggesting drivers slow down to conserve gasoline, and mention was made of Frank Giannini of the Art Museum of Western Virginia, who bicycled to work during the summer and filled his gas tank only once during the month of July. If commuters want to do something about high gas prices they need to look at the root of the problem: how often and how far they are driving by themselves. Slowing down a bit is certainly helpful, but reducing trips by trip-chaining shopping trips and other errands could accomplish even more. It might be overly ambitious to emulate Mr. Giannini, but certainly replacing even one work commute trip with a bicycle, bus, or carpool trip can add up over time.
At the trajectory at which gas prices continue to rise, Americans are soon going to run out of "frivolous" things to cut out of our budgets. Better to start looking closely now at how we can reduce consumption of gas itself through better transportation choices.