If Gas hit $2.00

[Capoeira]

I was having a debate with a buddy the other day.

The topic of debate was, "would people (civilians, not businesses like couriers or truckers) stop driving if gas hit $2.00?"

I personally think very few people will stop driving. my guess would be around 5-10% only.

What about you? Would you stop driving and seek public transportation?

 

[Cassini]

Public transportation is monumentally bad. You don't even appreciate it until you have been to Vancouver or Europe, and realized how good it can be.

If you are in Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, and to a lesser extent Hamilton, the surveys have been designed to make public transit infeasible. They deliberately design the surveys calm traffic by slowing drivers down. This has a huge impact on buses.

If you are in the up and coming commuter towns, like Grimsby or Milton, forget bus service. It does not exist.

People will not give up their cars for $10 gas (in the short term). They can't. They would have to sell their houses in the surveys and move to cities. This would create a massive housing displacement, and municipal planners are not ready for it.

 

[needinit]

I would still drive but would do more planned driving and plan a shopping route or save up trips and do in one effort.

For me, if gas was $2.00 a litre I would spend about the same on travelling to from work as I would on public transport and I still wear the cost of insurance etc anyway as I wouldn't sell my car.

Would definitely travel closer to home or fly instead of driving - to florida for example with some cheap ticket hotels combos, I can stay a day or 2 less (as spend less time getting there and back) and less some flights are dirt cheap.

 

[themexi]

OVER 30 cents of gas price is .......

TAX!!!!


Want an IMMEDIATE relief to people who Need to get to work affordably??


MAKE THE GOVERNMENT REDUCE THE TAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Blue-Spheroid]

I think that most people who drive now would have to keep driving. Many would likely cut down, however, as some already have.

 

[gww]

OVER 30 cents of gas price is .......

TAX!!!!


Want an IMMEDIATE relief to people who Need to get to work affordably??


MAKE THE GOVERNMENT REDUCE THE TAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And you expect them not to increase another type of tax or make up some new fee for you to pay.

 

[james t kirk]

OVER 30 cents of gas price is .......

TAX!!!!


Want an IMMEDIATE relief to people who Need to get to work affordably??


MAKE THE GOVERNMENT REDUCE THE TAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No.

Taxes go to pay for Goverment programs - Education, health, infrastructure, etc. Things that everyone uses.

The gov't could cut the tax on gasoline in half and the oil companies would simply fill the gap in in about 3 days and make even more profits.

The problem is not the government taxing the resource, it is speculators driving up the price of gasoline, big oil, and consumers driving inefficient cars.

 

[james t kirk]

To the original poster.....

If gas was 2 bucks a litre, I would definitely drive less, but I would still drive.

I walk already as I live in the downtown area.

I also use the subway.

I can and do work from home.

My car is not a gas guzzling dinosaur. I buy about 2 tank fulls a month - that's it.

 

[Blue-Spheroid]

The reality is that the actual cost of taking the oil out of the ground has hardly changed in several years; nor has the cost of refining it into gasoline. Meanwhile the price at the pump has increased by over 50%.

Where is all that extra money going? The Oil Companies are strangely silent on the topic.

 

[djk]

You forgot the option "whine about it on TERB and do absolutely fuck all".

And $2 gas would definitely be, if not accelerate the death of urban sprawl.

 

[Questor]

I would definitely keep driving, but I would likely drive less. When I buy my next car, I would probably look at more fuel efficient cars, but that is probably a few years off.

No.

Taxes go to pay for Goverment programs - Education, health, infrastructure, etc. Things that everyone uses.

The gov't could cut the tax on gasoline in half and the oil companies would simply fill the gap in in about 3 days and make even more profits.

The problem is not the government taxing the resource, it is speculators driving up the price of gasoline, big oil, and consumers driving inefficient cars.

Good post Kirk. You nailed it with the last sentence. And certainly we need government programs so cutting taxes is not the answer. Use less gasoline is the answer. There would be a lot more car pooling with $2 gasoline. And probably people working at least some of the time at home.

 

[Ceiling Cat]

Its the old I WILL STOP SMOKING WHEN IT HITS 5-6-7-8-9-$10 A PACK debate. People are all talk, when the time comes they do what they always do. Its the same with gas.

 

[Capoeira]

Its the old I WILL STOP SMOKING WHEN IT HITS 5-6-7-8-9-$10 A PACK debate. People are all talk, when the time comes they do what they always do. Its the same with gas.

My thoughts exactly! My buddy was arguing to death that almost everyone would stop driving... That ain't gonna happen!

 

[Blue-Spheroid]

Its the old I WILL STOP SMOKING WHEN IT HITS 5-6-7-8-9-$10 A PACK debate.

It is to a point but not completely. People do cut down as the price goes up. Everyone has different economic limits so, for some, $10 a pack makes no difference of $5; on the other hand, some people can't afford to spend $10 a day on smokes and still meet their other obligations so they smoke less...even if they don't (or can't) quit entirely.

The same is true for gas. Those who can afford expensive cars probably can handle the increased price for much longer than those who are on a tight budget. Filling a car today is $20 to $30 more expensive today than it was even 18 months ago. For some people, $20 to $60 a week extra makes a difference...it could be as much as $3000 a year which, on some salaries, is hard to absorb.

What we'll start seeing is that some people begin to drive less as the price goes up. Also, they may cut back on other costs because their lifestyle or job does not allow them to stop or reduce driving. As prices continue to climb, more and more people will feel the pinch and be forced into making adjustments. It may take a while but, long term, people will have to change their habits in some way if prices remain at or above $1.40 a litre. After all, we don't all get compensating raises when the pump price goes up so the extra money has to come from somewhere. People will use less gas or spend less on other things...like SPs perhaps?

 

[oldjones]

The question you left out: Will you stop driving your kids around?

 

[blackrock13]

My thoughts exactly! My buddy was arguing to death that almost everyone would stop driving... That ain't gonna happen!

Personal fuel is the least of our problems. You can't realize how much of what we use, eat, and wear is produced/delivered/or in some way introduced into our lives using oil.

 

[blackrock13]

The question you left out: Will you stop driving your kids around?

Do you mean make them walk or take transit? Aaaaaaaaaa!

 

[MrBingo]

i would still have to drive because the bus system is shittier then shit when i live, it's almost like in the middle of nowhere

 

[kono]

It's not a matter of if it's a matter of when. 5 years maybe? Better get a second or third job if you want to drive or buy essential products . That's if we're all still here after the whole December 21st 2012 shit?

 

[GingerofNiagara]

OVER 30 cents of gas price is .......

TAX!!!!


Want an IMMEDIATE relief to people who Need to get to work affordably??


MAKE THE GOVERNMENT REDUCE THE TAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The problem with that idea is that once you remove that source of income from government coffers they will need to find other areas to fill the budget holes left by the reduced gas revenue. Worse still is the fact that the oil producers (most specifically the near perfect monopoly on oil refineries) will just continue to increase the gas prices back to the levels they currently exist at. If the various levels of government removed the taxes on gas tomorrow how long do you think before the price returned to the levels they know we will consume gas at? I would imagine not more then a few months.

Then gas prices will still be ridiculously high but governments will have to raise taxes in other areas, or cut programs, to make up the revenue short fall.