Gas Prices and Commuting

I've been watching the gas prices go up week after week and lately it's day after day. Ava is sick of hearing me gasp at the gas prices each time we pass the corner gas station. It's really just become a morbid fascination.

This pic pretty much sums up my thoughts.

Photo from T-Shirt Humor

I'm shocked at how fast the prices are rising, but I'm also optimistic that we will finally see some lasting changes in behavior. Short term spikes in prices don't really change the way people behave or what decisions they make. They aren't likely to run out and sell the SUV and buy a hybrid just because fuel goes up a bit. I'm happy to hear that we are actually seeing some movements in the cars people are purchasing -- and not just in California.

So what have I been doing?

For the last few months, I've been using MyMileMarker to log our fuel purchases. I use the mobile version of the service to log each fill up on the motorcycle and the Civic. I've also lately used their Twitter interface which is super easy to send a Twitter msg from my phone giving the vehicle name, odometer reading, gallons, price/gallon. It helps to monitor the mileage on a regular basis. ServiceBeacon also added a feature to track fuel purchases.

I also wanted to know at which price point was it cheaper for me to take CalTrain on a regular basis instead of riding the motorcycle to work. So of course, I whipped up a spreadsheet (those that know me well, know that Excel is a very good friend of mine).

I know from an eco standpoint, I should be riding the train more often. But the eco decisions are tempered with the reality that I only have 24 hours in a day and the train adds 20-30 minutes each way to my commute.

I'll make another post soon with the details of my spreadsheet work, but I found out that when gas reaches $7.50/gallon, it's cheaper to take the train to work instead of the motorcycle. The bike gets 48 mpg and parking is $2.50/day -- and it saves me an hour a day.

BUT I may start riding the train more often once G arrives. I haven't found a car seat for the motorcycle, so a car will be needed when I start incorporating day care drop offs and pick ups to the daily ritual.