Comments on: One Great Potential Benefit Of Higher Gas Prices – Less Traffic

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:55:36 +0000

Here in the St. Louis metro area, the high gas prices don’t mean much beyond higher monthly fuel expenses. I’ve been to a lot of different cities, and this is one of the least pedestrian-friendly places I can recall. I live less than 1/2 a mile from the grocery store, but there’s no way I could safely walk there. Many of the roads are high-speed, high-traffic roads that don’t offer any kind of shoulder or sidewalk for pedestrians.

So yes, even at $8/gallon, I’ll just have to suck it up unless someone starts investing heavily in alternatives.

By: CollegeSavings.About.com - Ken Clark, CFP

CollegeSavings.About.com - Ken Clark, CFP — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:19:54 +0000

I wish! In SoCal, all the higher prices mean is that it costs me more to sit in the same traffic jam!

By: Michele

Michele — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:54:38 +0000

In many European contries, as much as 75% of the price per liter is taxes. But that pays for better roads, public transportation, etc. We pay on average 17% of the cost per gallon for taxes. Even where there is Pub Trans. the routes are minimal, forget about using it if you don’t have a traditional 9-to-5 job.

I used to live in Silver Spring and had a job opportunity down in Tysons corner, I had to turn down the job because it would have been a more than 2 hour commute each way because of traffic. And that was in 1991.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:23:00 +0000

I understand wanting to vent, but it did come off a bit mean. Empathy is good, though.

FYI, it’s not just the mid-west, it’s most of the country. We need better public transportation before people can choose to use it in most places. Even where some exists, the bus routes usually need a major overhaul.

By: Raymond

Raymond — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:58:58 +0000

You know, I think I was just venting a bit about being stuck in rush hour traffic. The fact is…I really do enjoy driving, but only when the experience is pleasant. It’s like going to an amusement park when the lines are insanely long. Sure the park itself is great, but the effort you have to put into it just isn’t worth it.

I know most Americans are feeling the gas price pinch. This is starting to become a serious issue all joking aside. Even though I’m not a frequent driver, I have changed my driving habits as well. I live near stores so I can afford to walk and take the subway, but what about those in the mid-west who rely on their vehicles to get around and travel long distances…I feel their pain.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:38:49 +0000

I can’t think of anyone I know that loves driving. I know I don’t. It’s just that we have to here. We don’t live in a metro area. Public transportation is very limited here. Where I grew up, it’s absolutely non-existent. Here, I could probably get to school using the bus, but it would take about an hour and a half each way at least — despite being about a 15-minute car ride, and I don’t have an extra three hours to spare. Oh, and the bus doesn’t run in the evenings when my classes get out. I live within walking distance to one grocery store, but I can’t carry a lot of groceries and I have to drive to go to pretty much any other stores. If my husband didn’t have a separate work vehicle, we’d have to have two vehicles or our own because he works irregular schedules and not necessarily near my classes (time- or space-wise).

Yes, the price of gas has affected my driving habits. I no longer get to visit friends and family like I used to — and they can’t visit me, either. It hurts to hear my mom say that she can’t come to some of my performances because the gas costs too much, but I understand and I’d rather her save her money to pay for essentials like food and meds — especially now that she has to drive her friend to dialysis every other day and how she’ll afford that I don’t know because the gas is going to suck up every penny of retirement she gets.

Even cutting down trips to only the essentials, the rising cost of gas means that my husband and I are still feeling the pinch financially and we’ve cut back so much that it’s hard to find more ways to cut. Nevertheless, if things don’t change I may have to take fewer classes next semester — not just to save in tuition, but rather to spend fewer days driving because that’s costing more than the tuition!

On the plus side, traffic has never been better here, either. Funny, though. I don’t feel so chipper seeing our once thriving little city turn into a ghost-town.

By: Raymond

Raymond — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:05:17 +0000

CFO,

LA is one giant traffic mess…the problem with LA is that everything is so spread out and the city hubs are all misplaced and it takes forever to get anywhere. One of the first few times I visited LA I missed my return flight to Maryland because my friend and I got stuck in one of LA’s infamous traffic jams.

By: Chief Family Officer

Chief Family Officer — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:20:11 +0000

Out here in LA (where traffic is indeed quite horrible), the big problem is the lack of public transportation. If I wanted to take public transportation to my office without setting foot in my car, I’d have to take at least three buses and one train. I just don’t see traffic decreasing appreciably out here unless and until there is a truly viable alternative to driving.