OS solutions to rising fuel prices

starsandmoon

Ive considered getting rid of my car but worked out public transport would cost me the same if not more! My family live quite far away and mum doesnt drive (does have bus passs though, well at the moment anyway). Work has reduced mileage claims and you have to have business class insurance so any meetings now I use bus/train and claim it back (this bizarrely costs more than if they paid me mileage at the old rate).

At the weekend we were going shopping to a town 30 miles away with expensive parking so got a day rider ticket. Took an hour on the bus but no stress and a pleasant drive in the country. I then used the ticket in the evening so got my moneys worth and didnt use the car at all.

I plan my shopping trips and get heavy shopping on the way home from work now so killing two birds with one stone. I walk more.

I use the car for work for 3 days and visit family one day and try not to use it any more than that. My fuel costs are still more than my gas and elec combined though each month!

Biggles

Bitsy_Beans wrote: »

Although the tip of not revving your engine at traffic lights - really apart from boy racers and wanna be Lewis Hamilton's who actually does this?!!

Yes, I read the quote from the guy who used to 'leave my feet on the clutch and accelerator'. Never mind petrol, I'm surprised he has any clutch left, I wonder how long it took him to work that one out.

For at least a couple of decades, if I can see I'm going to be stationary for more than around 5 seconds, I just turn off the engine. Not so much to save fuel, I just feel it's unsociable to continue pumping out exhaust fumes when I'm going nowhere, esp if there are pedestrians/cyclists around.

Gers

There's a government backed scheme for those who want to use a bike for work purposes

http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/employee,faqs.htm

foxgloves

Partner worked out that driving to work costs him £8 a day in petrol compared with getting a weekly travel card for the bus which costs £18 for 5 return trips (which can be on any days). Bus station is nearly a mile & a half away from home, but as we're also serious about getting some weight off this year, he's happy to walk it.

gambit27

I have no solution, I'd need to walk my kids to schools, 30 mins walk, if I got the bus, it's a 10 min walk to the bus stop, get off 2 stops later, 10 min walk to school, so pointless getting the bus! After that, I have to get to work, again, no buses go that route, it'd be a 20 min walk to the bus stop, followed by a 4 stop journey, and another 20 min walk, OR around 45 mins walk, whereas by car, it's 10 mins to school, then 15 mins to work. If I had to walk, I'd be out of a job as I'd be late every day! I also need to pick the kids up from school and drop them with my Mum, then back to work at the minute as she's on crutches and can't drive, so there is NO WAY I could give up my car, but with these prices it's becoming a nightmare. I wouldn't mind getting the bus, IF public transport went more than one route, and wasn't as expensive. As it is, at least I know I can get to and from work and school without hanging about waiting on buses that don't show up half the time, making everyone late. The prices are an absolute disgrace.

adelight

As long as you don't live out in the sticks or have a 50+ mile commute with too many connections, public transport is doable and cheaper 90% of the time, more so when you don't have small children/dependents. It just takes getting used to and careful planning.
I've relied on walking/public transport to travel across the west midlands on a daily basis(anyone who lives in the area will know birmingham to black country can be difficult but it's doable!), around London, cross country, to/from work at night. I don't have the option of driving but wouldn't want it, I like being free to do other things whilst travelling.
The cycle/walk is good for your health and if the traffic's bad it doesn't take much longer. You can ditch a gym membership. I make all my phone to calls to friends/family when walking home to kill time.
Short bus journeys I read, organise my diary, make a shopping list.
Long journeys I book train tickets in advance for dirt cheap and reserve a table seat so I have space to work, uncouth maybe but sometimes I do my make up and eat a packed breakfast/dinner on the train!

I would try getting the bus a few days a week, and eventually you might be able to ditch the car. Especially now it's warming up and getting near the summer holidays.

triticale

I would love to be able to give up my car and save on not just fuel but the ever increasing insurance and tax costs.

However, I have had enforced periods without a car and it is simply horrendous. The train journeys I would need to make at weekends would actually work out more expensive and incredibly inconvenient/stressful, popping to the supermarket becomes an epic quest etc. Can't shop around so don't get best bargains.

I'm always tight for time and carting stuff about, buses just do not work for me (and again work out more expensive than car).

Just over a year ago I did stop fighting through town traffic and started walking to work though. This did wonders for my health (lost a stone in 7 months) and mental wellbeing (I love striding merrily past the endless queues of rush hour traffic!)

I don't know about the M6 and M20 referred to in that BBC story, but the motorways I use could never be described as 'eerily quiet'!

I find that busier motorways make me drive less efficiently.

You cannot stick to 70mph as there are too many middle lane hoggers overtaking lorries at 63mph, taking 5 miles to complete the overtake (if they do ever pull back over!)

This means having to chance your arm in the outside lane to get past them, which I naturally speed up in (to get the overtake over with asap) because otherwise some speedy prat in an Audi (other makes of car driven by prats are available ) will come haring up your bum.

I once tried 50 miles of M1 at max 60mph. It was the most terrifying journey of my life! :eek:

You end up pinned between the slowest and fastest lorries in the inside lane and cars joining from slip roads join at the same place as you, unless you either slow right down in advance, or floor it and try to get into the middle lane (if anyone lets you out!)

So anyway, I can't do much more about fuel costs, but money can be saved on other consumable costs.

In the winter I saw people paying nearly £7 for 5 litres of 'premixed' (ie. watered down) screenwash, I pay £2 for 2.5 litres of concentrated and keep an old 2 litre water bottle in the boot to fill up with water at service stations.

Oil - so many people buy overpriced stuff from Halfords, ASDA do a range of decent semi-synthetics for around £15 for 5 litres.

Batteries, bulbs etc can all be had much cheaper than Halfords from any local motor factors (Andrew Page are my fave - once delivered me a huge heavy diesel battery for free).

I've just remembered when I had to buy some wiper blades from Halfords last year, I had three different members of staff asking me if I wanted them to fit them for me!

Politely declining (3 times), thinking they must just be bored/feeling sorry for the poor little woman, I headed out to fit my new (overpriced!) blades and saw the sign - 'wiper blades fitted for ONLY £2.99!! :rotfl:

It took me barely 2 minutes to fit mine (£90/hour labour, can't be bad), I felt rather sorry for the young man who stood rather sheepishly (and £2.99 lighter) watching his being fitted for him...

Biggles wrote: »

For at least a couple of decades, if I can see I'm going to be stationary for more than around 5 seconds, I just turn off the engine. Not so much to save fuel, I just feel it's unsociable to continue pumping out exhaust fumes when I'm going nowhere, esp if there are pedestrians/cyclists around.

Depending on the car, turning off and then restarting can use more fuel (and wear components more quickly) than leaving the engine idling. I would only really do this if it's clear I'm going nowhere for at least 5 minutes.

lostinrates

Bitsy_Beans wrote: »

Although the tip of not revving your engine at traffic lights - really apart from boy racers and wanna be Lewis Hamilton's who actually does this?!!

At one junction locally, me. As other Land rover defender drivers will know, they roll back on to their breaks on inclines..not a fault, and not a lot but at one cross roads with traffic lights people come up so close behind I'm scared to put my handbrake on the slight back turn of the wheels. I've had people scream abuse at me....the simpler answer would be, of course, not to get to close to people at all but especially not on hills.

tiff

At the moment I work one day a week and to get the kids to school and be at work (across the city) by 9 to 9.30 I need to drive. I drive the kids to school 3 miles away and also pick them up. However the youngest starts secondary in September so seriously considering us all cycling there to start with (eldest has done in the past). That is the majority of my car mileage taken care of, it really has come to the point where we need to do something. Its only going to get worse :-(

Cheapskate

I put £10 worth of petrol in my car today - and had to pay £1.329 per litre - up from £1.289 on Sunday at the SAME station!!!

I've decided to use the average of several journeys I put into the Google petrol gauge thingy (15 pence per mile) & put this aside after every trip (e.g. 5 mile trip = 75 pence, etc.),either towards the next fill up or save long term for service/MOT etc.

A xo