Gas prices

[Richard L]

KL's mileage is very believable to me. That is about the same mileage I got with my 2001 and my 2003 Sport Tracs. I have gotten just over 22 MPG as my best mileage and have gone over 430 miles on a single tank of gas. My speedometer was accurate to within one MPH with my GPS (I have used both a Garmin and a TomTom). My average mileage on a 2400 mile round trip road trip was over 21 MPG.



I just purchased and installed a Ultra0Gauge in my 2002 Toyota Highlander and in just a few days of mixed city/highway driving I am averaging 22 MPG. I have not done a gas or distance calibration yet, but it appears that my Toyota speedometer reading is about 1-2 MPH faster than my GPS at about 65 MPH...so I know it's not very accuate but when I calibrate the Ultra-Gauge, I will still get pretty good gas mileage for a 228HP, midsized SUV.



...Rich

 

[Nelson Atwell]

We are paying around $7.30 per gallon in Poland now. Filling my Mazda 3 costs about $95. We tend to drive the Suzuki more, since it is diesel and gets 50 mpg. We don't drive much now that I am retired. We fill both cars about once a month.



I have an interview for a new job with NATO next week. It would be nice, and it is two blocks from home. I could walk to work in 7 minutes.

 

[Richard L]

Nelson,

Ouck !! $7.30 a gallon really hurts. The good thing about most European cities is the great mass transist systems they have, and also the respect for bicycle riders. I was always amazed to see little 60-70 year old ladies riding around on bikes, like they were kids. Now I am even looking into buying a nice bike...More for physical fitness rather than gas savings.



I noticed that overnight the gas prices had jumped at my usual gas station from $3.69 to $3.75 for regular and $4.20 for premium. I did a quick check at GasBuddy.com on my BlackBerry, and found several stations that were still selling regular for $3.65, and one was just around the corner...so I went there and filled up.



If you don't know about GasBuddy.com, it locates the cheapes prices for gas in your area. You can alsoe report what you paid for gas and that gets logged into their database for others to use for comparison. It works great for me in situations just like I had today. They even have special GasBuddy apps for iPhones, but I just use my Browser on my BlackBerry.



...Rich

 

[Kevin Lang]

The good thing about most European cities is the great mass transist systems they have, and also the respect for bicycle riders.

Not to mention that since everything is closer, and older (Built when walking and horse riding were the only ways to get around) biking and walking are actually practical. I imagine that there are few cases of people 2-3 hour commutes (one way) away from their job over there.



That'll never happen at America...at least I hope I never see something as ludicrous as people using a 55 mph speed limit road as a giant bike path as few will be able to drive.



I have a cheap bike, but I've ridden it into the ground. A nice bike costs a fair chunk of change, and where I live, it isn't really practical for me. :sad:



:back2topic:

(Kinda)



I just drove 250 miles round trip to Old Rag Mountain, through today's rather brutal 495 traffic backup (there really needs to be a better way to get to the area south of DC from north of DC, I'd countenance another beltway at this point as the current system is maxed out), and I got 22.4 mpg for the trip according to my scan gauge. Sadly, gas was in the 3.80s here today. The local bulk discount warehouse (BJs) contends that it could sell its gas dirt cheap, but the surrounding gas stations got a price floor passed a few years back that is still in place :angry:

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Richard,



Yes, things are pretty convenient here. I could just walk to the end of my street to catch the nearest bus. We have a city tram system just 10 minutes walk from the house. I could take the bus or the tram to the main bus station and catch a bus to almost any town in the country. The train system is also cheap. I could ride the train anywhere in Poland for $50.



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Most people don't have cars here, and a lot of the ones who do have them, don't drive them often. The biggest problem here is parking. Like you said, the cities weren't designed for cars.

 

[Kevin Lang]

The train system is also cheap. I could ride the train anywhere in Poland for $50.

Whereas in America, AMTRAK costs more than that just to get a person out of Maryland,which is a lot smaller than Poland. 50 bucks doesn't even take a person from Maryland to the heart of neighboring state West Virginia, that'll cost you 68 bucks, and that's with a sizable discount.



Most trains only go to a location once a day, 3 days a week. That's the bare minimum for service IMO. ((Commuter trains are at least once a day, like the Northeast trains, to be fair, but distance trains, especially the transcontinental ones, well their schedules suck.)



In most of the USA, Amtrak trains have less than 80% on time performance. The average speed of an Amtrak train is also only 48 mph or so.



American trains are generally slow, infrequent, and pretty expensive...but they don't have to be, which annoys me.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Nelson,



Is the Polish public transit system privatly or government owned?





Tom

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Tom,



It is a government-owned corporation, just as AMTRAK is in the USA. Almost all lines are powered by electric locomotives.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Nelson,



I do not think the problem with AMTRAK is that they are government owned, like KL thinks.



I feel the problem is that those that operate AMTRAK are not qualified to run it. I have been to Europe, Germany in this case, and the public transportation system is excellent.



The problem is not because it is government owned because systems work in other countries that have a government owned public transportation systems.





Tom