rising cost of gas
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Topic: rising cost of gas
Posted By: brad b
Subject: rising cost of gas
Date Posted: 05 May 2005 at 1:19pm
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I understand that as a driver in order to make use of HOV3 we need slugs. However I have noticed an increase in riders vs. drivers as gas costs rise.Everyone want's a free ride. Does the greater sluging community see a tip jar per se when gas prices increase this summer as they usually do?
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Replies:
Posted By: ronsray
Date Posted: 05 May 2005 at 1:44pm
Shop around for gas prices !!! Try using this link. If you buy from the cheapest station, prices WILL come down at the others!!
http://gaspricewatch.com/usgas_index.asp
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Posted By: carleric
Date Posted: 05 May 2005 at 2:02pm
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What's odd, Brad, is that I've noticed the exact opposite where I am. I ride from Potomac Mills to Rosslyn, usually leaving at 7 AM and for the past few weeks there has been an unusually large number of cars waiting for people. I counted them yesterday morning and there were SEVENTEEN waiting for slugs.
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Posted By: VA4ver
Date Posted: 05 May 2005 at 2:12pm
Has anyone thought that the more you drive around to find better gas prices, the more gas you waste?
The nature of the slug system is compensation comes from the drivers' use of the slugs to access HOV.
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Posted By: getmehome pweeze
Date Posted: 05 May 2005 at 2:16pm
No money to slug, drivers will be just as bad as the fools that support HOT lanes.
:'}
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Posted By: sluDgE
Date Posted: 05 May 2005 at 2:25pm
Slugging started and has always been for the mutual benefit of both drivers and riders (slugs) with no exchange of funds. You might recall that folklore says slugging got its name from the "slug" coins that bus riders would not have to use to ride public transportation to/from work because auto drivers would offer them a free ride. [;)] We need to keep slugging as it is.[^] Sometime in the past, there was aother suggestion that slugs might pay a slight fee to drivers -- and a "message board lawyer" indicated this would likely be against the law for a non-public transportation operator (i.e. a driver picking up slugs) to collect money from people that he is offering a ride in competition to public transportation companies licensed to operate in Va. [}:)]
Keep on sluggin'! [:)]
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Posted By: CallmeMrSlug
Date Posted: 05 May 2005 at 3:24pm
As a rider, it is easy for me to say it should always be free for the rider but I do appreciate that drivers are paying additional expenses as gas prices rise. I also have noticed more slugs from 610 going to DC. For most of the winter, I would arrive at 6:00-6:15 and there were only a few in the DC line. This morning, I got to the lot at 6:05 and there were twenty people in line!
I did drive yesterday because of a doctor's appointment. From home to my office, it took almost 2 hours, and it took 1 hour and forty five minutes to come home (thanks mostly to a blissful, and highly unusual, ride between the HOV merge and Stafford). I usually make it to work in an hour and fifteen minutes from my home to the office. In other words, slugging saves at least an hour or more a day. If your time is valuable at all, the time savings handily pay for the gas increase.
I do want to say that I do appreciate all those who drive for picking up the riders. I have only been slugging for 6 months or so, and almost all of my rides have been pleasant. Thank you drivers!!!
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Posted By: 122582
Date Posted: 06 May 2005 at 8:26am
Brad, when prices hit $2.25 and up down south, I saw a big increase in the number of slugs.
I recently suggested that if the HOV becomes HOT, that slugs pick up the tolls, and rapidly found out that the slugs want a free ride - period.
A tip jar doesn't sound like a bad idea considering we leave a tip for a way too expensive cup of coffee at Starbucks, or give a $2.00 tip for a $12.00 haircut that takes 10 minutes. I've thought about that myself, but it just wouldn't fly. sluDgE's post about accepting money for a ride might be on track, but then how would formal carpools be legal?
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Posted By: uhura2
Date Posted: 06 May 2005 at 8:41am
quote:
Originally posted by brad b
[br]I understand that as a driver in order to make use of HOV3 we need slugs. However I have noticed an increase in riders vs. drivers as gas costs rise.Everyone want's a free ride. Does the greater sluging community see a tip jar per se when gas prices increase this summer as they usually do?
I think that it would be illegal for $ to be given to the drivers...but, I could be wrong.
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Posted By: vabigblue
Date Posted: 06 May 2005 at 10:38am
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Although I would support "tipping" the driver; however, if slugs weren't available, then drivers would undoubtly spend a few dollars more in gas. I mean, as you can see, slugs are part of the solution to saving gas.
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Posted By: Undisclosed
Date Posted: 06 May 2005 at 10:48am
Gas prices are never going to go down again (long term). We have already tapped half the supply of available oil. While there is still lots left, we have already obtained that which is easily extracted. The rest will cost more and more to extract. Add to that the new demand for oil in Asia, and most economists predict gas prices of $5 per gallon in the next decade.
The traffic problem may actually get better as more people do a cost/benefit analysis and decide that maybe it is not so bad to commute in with Becky from Accounting and Joe from Human Resources.
One thing to munch on: slugging depends on horrible traffic. If the roads aren't clogged, drivers aren't going to want to use the HOV lanes. There may come a time where the driver's motivation will be a little tip from the slug rather than HOV.
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Posted By: wahoowa
Date Posted: 06 May 2005 at 12:22pm
I agree that gas prices aren't going to go down in the long term, but at least wholesale prices for June gasoline delivery remain relatively low...possibly translating to $1.90 or less per gallon at the pump in Prince William and points south. We'll see.
I asked my State Farm agent about the possibility of carpoolers reimbursing me for part of my gas (not that I'd ever ask slugs to do such a thing!) and she said that helping out with gas is not considered "paying" for the ride, so it's kosher in terms of a personal insurance policy.
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Posted By: getmehome pweeze
Date Posted: 06 May 2005 at 3:01pm
who tips at starbucks?
:'}
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Posted By: tlschau
Date Posted: 06 May 2005 at 3:07pm
Here's another good website to track gas prices:
http://www.virginiagasprices.com/
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Posted By: sluDgE
Date Posted: 06 May 2005 at 3:41pm
A slug paying for a ride from a slug line is a severe breach of long-established slugging protocol. Don't do it!
Keep on sluggin'! [:)]
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Posted By: SpongeBob
Date Posted: 09 May 2005 at 12:16pm
sluDge, old buddy, nobody advocates paying for a slug ride.
But, and it's a big one [;)], if the system changes, then slugging may end up changing, too. That is, if what is free now (highway use) becomes a cost (Toll Roads), then what is free now (slugging) may become a cost, too (Tips or Tolls).
If they charge us $.50 per mile, not out of the range of possibility, to use the Toll Roads, it will cost $15.00 one way from the 234 lot to DC. If a slug is willing to pay $3, then two slugs bring the per trip cost of the driver to $9.
(Really, the elephant in the room is the Per-trip versus the Per-mile rate of paying the toll. Which one do you think they will pick? Ha! As if!)
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Posted By: vabigblue
Date Posted: 09 May 2005 at 4:11pm
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Then I add to my previous post of May 6th that not only are slugs part of the solution to save gas, they (slugs) could also be part of the solution for paying tolls in the future.
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Posted By: wahoowa
Date Posted: 09 May 2005 at 11:02pm
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FYI, WashingtonDCGasPrices.com is reporting many stations with $1.999/gallon regular in Woodbridge and Dale City. Yippee!
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Posted By: dickboyd
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 2:44am
quote:
Originally posted by wahoowa
[br]FYI, WashingtonDCGasPrices.com is reporting many stations with $1.999/gallon regular in Woodbridge and Dale City. Yippee!
AAA publishes an article every year on the cost of operating an automobile.
http://www.csaa.com/global/articledetail/0,,1008010000%257c5173.html
IRS allows $0.405 (40.5 cents) per mile. AAA figures the notional cost at $0.561 per mile.
AAA reported six cost categories:
Depreciation: $3,879/year
Insurance $1,288/year
Fuel $1,288/year
Maintenance $885/year
Finance $739/year
Tax/Registr $355/year
AAA does not report the amount of time wasted. Texas Transportation Institute does that.
http://mobility.tamu.edu/
Slugging can save in every category except taxes and registration. Drive less and the car depreciates less. Drive less and the risk exposure goes down. Drive less and the car uses less fuel and requires less maintenance. Apply that savings to pay off the note quicker.
You might take a look at your own transportation finance. Especially if you are trying to figure out how to finance your children's college education.
Of interest is that fuel and insurance are about the same. Lots of people drive miles out of their way to get lower price fuel, but take little action to make the roads safer. Safer roads is what drives down insurance costs.
The TTI study attributes about half of the congestion to crashes. Make the roads safer and reduce the crashes.
Is this a good start for a national transportation policy?
The downside is that people on the receiving end of the cash flow aren't going to give an inch. Buy a new car now and keep the depreciation going. Even though there isn't a decent road to drive it on. ;P
dickboyd@aol.com
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Posted By: Baz
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 6:22am
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As a slug...I would love for you to show me who exactly puts $885 per year into maintenance of their cars. I know its not drivers at the Horner road lot! ;)
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Posted By: 122582
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 8:29am
Baz,
I can't recall a year when I've spent that little on maintenance.
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Posted By: scottt
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 8:44am
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I definately don't spend $885 a year in maintenance......not even close.
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Posted By: Baz
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 8:46am
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If your spending $10000 to 15000 per year on maintenance - Time to get rid of the beater!!
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Posted By: 122582
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 9:03am
For me it's an oil change every other month and a set of tires, transmission fluid change, front end alignment, and a brake job per year (coming from Fredericksburg). It adds up quickly - 650 miles per week x 50 weeks per year = 32,500 miles per year. Not to mention after 3 years, you really need a paint job thanks to all the construction debris blasting your finish.
The reason you're not spending much on maintenance is because your riding with someone who is!
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Posted By: getmehome pweeze
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 9:24am
Who gets their car repainted every three years? They sell wax the color of your car these days, I used to have a red Civic that I would color wax.. wow that baby was pretty afterwards, and it looked like I committed a murder, caught red handed.. get it... ha ha, ? Most tires last anywhere from 6 months to a year, and I used to drive 65 miles roundtrip, 6 days a week. No one changes there tires that often, what do you drive any way 122582? I'd rather take the bus than pay a driver for the convenience of slugging.
:'}
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Posted By: uhura2
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 11:32am
quote:
Originally posted by getmehome pweeze
[br]Who gets their car repainted every three years? They sell wax the color of your car these days, I used to have a red Civic that I would color wax.. wow that baby was pretty afterwards, and it looked like I committed a murder, caught red handed.. get it... ha ha, ? Most tires last anywhere from 6 months to a year, and I used to drive 65 miles roundtrip, 6 days a week. No one changes there tires that often, what do you drive any way 122582? I'd rather take the bus than pay a driver for the convenience of slugging.
:'}
Where can I buy this wax? Pls share!
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Posted By: getmehome pweeze
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 11:41am
Oh, try any auto store, Autozone? I got it when I lived in NY, but I'm sure you can find it in Wally World in the auto section. The stuff worked great, it was a huge bottle, less than 10$$. Even came with one of those crayons to rub on scratches to help dull them out when you wax it.
:'}
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Posted By: uhura2
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 11:50am
quote:
Originally posted by getmehome pweeze
[br]Oh, try any auto store, Autozone? I got it when I lived in NY, but I'm sure you can find it in Wally World in the auto section. The stuff worked great, it was a huge bottle, less than 10$$. Even came with one of those crayons to rub on scratches to help dull them out when you wax it.
:'}
Thanks-I'll add it to my husband's honey do list immediately!
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Posted By: WBSlug7
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 12:49pm
I agree with the above statements that slugging is already saving drivers gas money so it is absurd to expect money from slugs just because the prices have gone up. Aside from the steep price increase, inflation happens, and it's a known fact that cost of living increases never compensates for inflation increase. So are people to expect slugs to pay them for that too? There's no one saying you can't offer a tip to drivers, that's like if you decide to give money to the homeless when they walk up to your car. It's one's decision. It's when drivers have a tip jar or if there's a community expectation of offering tips that will run slugging into trouble.
In the meantime, if you're really that strapped for cash and having trouble paying the gas bill, then try cutting back on other expenses like cable tv or eating out. :)
Forget Horner Rd, use Potomac Mills!
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Posted By: adjguy
Date Posted: 10 May 2005 at 5:33pm
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Tipping will ruin slugging. If you want a tip, im sure many of our area dining establishments are hiring for the summer. I wonder how much the drivers will ask for. Will we pay an SUV surcharge? As far as the HOT Lanes, if you have three you dont pay right?
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Posted By: scottt
Date Posted: 11 May 2005 at 8:54am
quote:
Originally posted by 122582
[br]For me it's an oil change every other month and a set of tires, transmission fluid change, front end alignment, and a brake job per year (coming from Fredericksburg). It adds up quickly - 650 miles per week x 50 weeks per year = 32,500 miles per year. Not to mention after 3 years, you really need a paint job thanks to all the construction debris blasting your finish.
The reason you're not spending much on maintenance is because your riding with someone who is!
No, the reason I spent so little on maintenance is my commute is only 200 miles a week compaired to your 650.
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Posted By: Baz
Date Posted: 11 May 2005 at 9:35am
As far as the proposal goes...if you have 3 - you will not pay a toll fee. It would be the same as it is now under the HOV3. We're not in Houston...
quote:
Originally posted by RobertLangDirect
[br]quote:
Originally posted by adjguy
[br]. . . surcharge? As far as the HOT Lanes, if you have three you dont pay right?
Sure, if each of the riders agree to pay 50% of the current seventy cents per mile they charge on the SR 91 HOT, then you'd drive for free.
If you have two passengers willing to each pay their "share" in Houston, then you'd ride for free, but there, it has gone from HOT to T and T [Remember, the Houston Exchange is 'Toll and Two -- T and T. That just dynomite.']
Unfortunately, the people who run the HOT are chartered to PAY BACK THE INVESTORS and NOT CHARTERED to KEEP HOV FOREVER FREE.
HOV FOREVER FREE!
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Posted By: SpongeBob
Date Posted: 11 May 2005 at 10:01am
Baz, as we've been pointing out to the willfully blind or stupid since last August:
THERE IS NO WAY TO COUNT THE PEOPLE IN THE CAR UNDER FLUOR'S PLAN!!!!
Jeez, I'm sorry to yell, but how many times do we have to make the point? It cannot -- simply cannot -- be done, and Fluor admits it right up front in their proposal.
Good Gravy, folks, the High Occupancy part of our highway system is about to go kaput and it is being totally ignored by our local media and by the very people who will be most affected.
READ THIS!!!
"'If you're expecting to get HOV-3 and ride for free, it's not clear that's going to be possible at this stage,' said Ronald F. Kirby, transportation planning director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments." Washington Post, 4-29-05 Page A01
How much higher an authority do you need to tell you: IT IS GOING TO BE A PURE TOLL ROAD, as we've been warning you for months.
(Man, I've got to lay off the venti Starbucks....)
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Posted By: adjguy
Date Posted: 12 May 2005 at 7:25pm
Spongeman, Decaf man, Deeeeecafff!
So, no more HOV3. Just a pure toll road. I wonder how long thats going to last, as it seems like a doomsday event. I wonder if the voters will put up with all of this, especially in Prince William and Fairfax County. Considering PWC and Fairfax are mostly bedroom communities that commute generally north, I wonder if the elected officials in charge have the Go-nads to let a toll only road exist after wha is it now, 15-20 years of HOV? I just dont see this kind of drastic change coming about.
Just an opinion here, not trying to pick a fight.
Should I get one of those Credit Card swipers for my car for my riders if this really does happen? How many folks carry cash anymore....[:p]
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Posted By: Dhacim
Date Posted: 13 May 2005 at 5:09pm
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Donkeys!! You can buy tires that are guaranteed up to 50,000 miles...Spend a couple extra bucks and buy a good set....6 months to a year....christ, your being had.....
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Posted By: SpongeBob
Date Posted: 17 May 2005 at 9:29am
I've only had half a cup this morning, so...
Funny how every thread turns into either a high-bred or Tool Road rant, isn't it? Not much will matter when HOV is gone.
It is a Doomsday Event, Adjguy, if we lose HOV. That's why the Sponge has been running in circles crying Doom! Doom!
So what makes you think the politicians aren't actively aiding the effort to destroy HOV? They don't use the lanes, they don't see the potential impact, they aren't concerned about it, so they let the Fluor proposal go through because they have to do SOMETHING!
BTW, Sean Connaughton, he of the mega-sign near the mixing bowl announcing his hubris-filled quest to be #2 in Virginia, would melt down to hear you call Prince William County a bedroom community. You and I know it is exactly that, but he has been laboring to bring in businesses and create in-county jobs. They don't WANT to help the commuters because then the county stays bedroom.
I guess I should say that they don't want to CATER to the commuters; we're not part of the future they are trying to build in PWC. Sean's smart enough to know that bedroom communities, particularly ones filled with townhomes, are not economically viable: the tax income doesn't cover the services provided (schools, mostly.) Remember when PWC had the highest property tax rates in Va? It was because our tax base has too small a business component (despite Potomac Mills.)
If implementing HOT lets the politicians claim they "did something" about the traffic, then they are going to let it happen. It will always be easier for them to let something happen than to have to actively oppose it. Who needs the hassle?
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Posted By: adjguy
Date Posted: 18 May 2005 at 9:29pm
Sponge,
Thank you for your comments, noted. I agree with your statements and hope that busineses and US Government Contractors will lease space in the county to generate revenue, but that is a whole new issue. Govt. Contractors and agencies are a driving force in this region, but I beleive unfortunately they have this silly rule that contractors must set up shop within a reasonable distance(cant remember milage) of their client, which does not include allot of southern Prince William County. We can only hope that the US Marine Corps and the new FT. Belvior buildup (thanks to BRACS) helps our county get that business. I would love not having to slug to work 25 miles everyday and depend on a commuter parking lot that fills up by 7am. I guess trying to get those jobs here is up to our senior politicians......Sean, you reading this?
Im with everyone here, to keep HOV Free. Let our votes do the talking here in November.
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