xcel
04-02-2007, 06:44 AM
Carpooling, buses offer some pump price relief. (http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070402/BIZ/704020323/1148/AUTO01)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Detroit_Bus_and_Sytem.jpgJennifer Youssef - Detroit News - April 2, 2007
The SMART bus system is available throughout Metro Detroit.
Ahh, the first signs that summer is just around the corner: Crocuses in bloom, children playing in the park, opening day of baseball -- and prices going up at the gas pump.
Higher gas prices are a rite of summer, when vacation travel drives up demand and stations start selling the more expensive, less-polluting summer blend.
As most motorists dole out the dough to fill 'er up and indulge their addiction to their vehicles, a small but growing number of Metro Detroiters will be smiling this summer as they count the money they're saving by cutting down on gas.
Some took up mass transit (really, despite its limitations in Metro Detroit), some started carpooling, others cut down on quick trips to the store or bought more fuel-efficient cars. Like hundreds of Americans, they've made lasting changes in their driving habits in response to the steady climb of gas prices over the past several years, including a stint above $3 a gallon last summer.
Consider that just three years ago this month, a gallon of gas in Metro Detroit averaged $1.74. Today, the price stands at about $2.60.
"In 2005 and into 2006, we did see consumers start to change their driving behavior," said David Portalatin, director of industry analysis at NPD Group Inc., which tracks consumer spending. "That's a very hard thing to change, because I've either got to change where I work, where I live, or what kind of car I drive in order to actually consume less gasoline."
Changing the kind of car he drives is exactly what Derrick Ward of Pontiac, 38, did two months ago. He was spending $80 a week driving his 2003 Dodge Ram pickup back and forth to work in Detroit. Since he bought a Ford Escort, he's spending only $22 a week.
Ward is among thousands of Americans who are trading in their big SUVS. Car sales rose 1.5 percent from 2005 to 2006, to 7.8 million vehicles, while SUV and truck sales fell 5.9 percent.
"I am really happy with it," Ward said of his Escort. "It saves me a ton of money that I can be spending on other things."
Bus ridership is increasing
Dave Schneider, on the other hand, is a mass transit convert. He used to spend at least $5 a day in gas to get from his home in Farmington to his job at the DTE Energy building in Detroit. But ever since he discovered the ease and cost savings of taking the SMART bus, 53-year-old Schneider, an accountant, has only driven to work four times in the past five months, saving about $10 a week. Plus he puts fewer miles on the vehicle and lets someone else deal with the traffic. It costs him $3 a day to ride the bus.
"I definitely save money on gas and wear and tear," Schneider said.
Schneider isn't the only Metro Detroiter who started taking the bus this past year. Transit agencies say ridership and interest in public transportation services are on the rise, especially during gas price spikes.
Nearly 11 million people rode suburban-based SMART buses last year, compared with 10.5 million in 2005, said Beth Gibbons, public relations manager. Since 2002, ridership is up 25 percent; increasing each year for the past four years. She attributed the jump to several factors, including better service, having more routes and the higher cost of fuel.
More people are taking Detroit city buses, too, according to the city's Department of Transportation. Last year, an average of 130,000 people rode the bus each weekday, a 10 percent increase from 2005.
High gas prices aren't the only reason for the increased ridership, spokeswoman Rovella Phillips said, "but it's a factor." The agency has improved its service the past few years, she said, and that keeps first-time riders coming back.
"When people get on a bus and see that it's clean and it works, they'll try it again," Phillips said.
Commuters try carpools
Higher gas prices are also driving up the number of commuters signing up for the RideShare carpool program through the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, spokeswoman Iris Steinberg said. There was a 20 percent increase in applications for the program in 2006.
"People are really looking for ways to save money," Steinberg said. "When gas prices went up, our numbers went up."
SEMCOG provides commuters with a list of potential carpool partners. The list includes information on work locations, work hours and flexibility and whether the match has a car available or is looking for a ride. SEMCOG officials first started noticing an increase in carpool participants in August 2005, after Hurricane Katrina damaged oil refineries in Louisiana, causing gas prices to skyrocket. SEMCOG typically gets about 200 new applications for the RideShare program, and it received at least 900 applications that August, Steinberg said.
The number of applications dropped once the prices began to fall, and picked up again last summer as the cost of fuel rose. The agency expects another jump in applications as gas prices begin to creep up again this summer.
Carpooling has saved Maelynn Tooha enough money that she can get her nails done twice a month and splurge on a nice gift for her 8-year-old grandson's birthday in April. Tooha of Clinton Township and her next door neighbor Edmond Ellis have been taking turns driving to Macomb Mall to walk four days a week for almost a year.
"I really like (carpooling)," Tooha, 83, said. "It gives me extra money and now I have someone to walk with."
Drivers need to remember that when gas prices drop each fall, it's only temporary, Michigan AAA spokesman Jim Rink said. Prices will certainly go up again, which is why it's important that motorists continually look for ways to lower their fuel consumption.
"Everybody knows gas prices go up this time of year and (oil investors) want to take advantage of that," Rink said, adding that he expects prices to hit a high of $2.70 to $2.80 a gallon in May, barring any disasters or major interruptions.
SMART bus saves money
Mike Stephen's decision to take the SMART bus to his job at Wayne State University three years ago wasn't entirely because of high gas prices. But now that he sees how much money his family is saving by taking the bus, he's planning to stick with it.
"We cannot afford to have $400 to $500 gas bills each month," said Stephen, a 43-year-old Detroit resident and a research grant administrator at Wayne State.
Between gas, the $45 monthly parking fee at the university and car payments, Stephen figures his family saves thousands of dollars each year by only having one car. For $66 a month, he gets unlimited use of the bus.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Detroit_Bus_and_Sytem.jpgJennifer Youssef - Detroit News - April 2, 2007
The SMART bus system is available throughout Metro Detroit.
Ahh, the first signs that summer is just around the corner: Crocuses in bloom, children playing in the park, opening day of baseball -- and prices going up at the gas pump.
Higher gas prices are a rite of summer, when vacation travel drives up demand and stations start selling the more expensive, less-polluting summer blend.
As most motorists dole out the dough to fill 'er up and indulge their addiction to their vehicles, a small but growing number of Metro Detroiters will be smiling this summer as they count the money they're saving by cutting down on gas.
Some took up mass transit (really, despite its limitations in Metro Detroit), some started carpooling, others cut down on quick trips to the store or bought more fuel-efficient cars. Like hundreds of Americans, they've made lasting changes in their driving habits in response to the steady climb of gas prices over the past several years, including a stint above $3 a gallon last summer.
Consider that just three years ago this month, a gallon of gas in Metro Detroit averaged $1.74. Today, the price stands at about $2.60.
"In 2005 and into 2006, we did see consumers start to change their driving behavior," said David Portalatin, director of industry analysis at NPD Group Inc., which tracks consumer spending. "That's a very hard thing to change, because I've either got to change where I work, where I live, or what kind of car I drive in order to actually consume less gasoline."
Changing the kind of car he drives is exactly what Derrick Ward of Pontiac, 38, did two months ago. He was spending $80 a week driving his 2003 Dodge Ram pickup back and forth to work in Detroit. Since he bought a Ford Escort, he's spending only $22 a week.
Ward is among thousands of Americans who are trading in their big SUVS. Car sales rose 1.5 percent from 2005 to 2006, to 7.8 million vehicles, while SUV and truck sales fell 5.9 percent.
"I am really happy with it," Ward said of his Escort. "It saves me a ton of money that I can be spending on other things."
Bus ridership is increasing
Dave Schneider, on the other hand, is a mass transit convert. He used to spend at least $5 a day in gas to get from his home in Farmington to his job at the DTE Energy building in Detroit. But ever since he discovered the ease and cost savings of taking the SMART bus, 53-year-old Schneider, an accountant, has only driven to work four times in the past five months, saving about $10 a week. Plus he puts fewer miles on the vehicle and lets someone else deal with the traffic. It costs him $3 a day to ride the bus.
"I definitely save money on gas and wear and tear," Schneider said.
Schneider isn't the only Metro Detroiter who started taking the bus this past year. Transit agencies say ridership and interest in public transportation services are on the rise, especially during gas price spikes.
Nearly 11 million people rode suburban-based SMART buses last year, compared with 10.5 million in 2005, said Beth Gibbons, public relations manager. Since 2002, ridership is up 25 percent; increasing each year for the past four years. She attributed the jump to several factors, including better service, having more routes and the higher cost of fuel.
More people are taking Detroit city buses, too, according to the city's Department of Transportation. Last year, an average of 130,000 people rode the bus each weekday, a 10 percent increase from 2005.
High gas prices aren't the only reason for the increased ridership, spokeswoman Rovella Phillips said, "but it's a factor." The agency has improved its service the past few years, she said, and that keeps first-time riders coming back.
"When people get on a bus and see that it's clean and it works, they'll try it again," Phillips said.
Commuters try carpools
Higher gas prices are also driving up the number of commuters signing up for the RideShare carpool program through the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, spokeswoman Iris Steinberg said. There was a 20 percent increase in applications for the program in 2006.
"People are really looking for ways to save money," Steinberg said. "When gas prices went up, our numbers went up."
SEMCOG provides commuters with a list of potential carpool partners. The list includes information on work locations, work hours and flexibility and whether the match has a car available or is looking for a ride. SEMCOG officials first started noticing an increase in carpool participants in August 2005, after Hurricane Katrina damaged oil refineries in Louisiana, causing gas prices to skyrocket. SEMCOG typically gets about 200 new applications for the RideShare program, and it received at least 900 applications that August, Steinberg said.
The number of applications dropped once the prices began to fall, and picked up again last summer as the cost of fuel rose. The agency expects another jump in applications as gas prices begin to creep up again this summer.
Carpooling has saved Maelynn Tooha enough money that she can get her nails done twice a month and splurge on a nice gift for her 8-year-old grandson's birthday in April. Tooha of Clinton Township and her next door neighbor Edmond Ellis have been taking turns driving to Macomb Mall to walk four days a week for almost a year.
"I really like (carpooling)," Tooha, 83, said. "It gives me extra money and now I have someone to walk with."
Drivers need to remember that when gas prices drop each fall, it's only temporary, Michigan AAA spokesman Jim Rink said. Prices will certainly go up again, which is why it's important that motorists continually look for ways to lower their fuel consumption.
"Everybody knows gas prices go up this time of year and (oil investors) want to take advantage of that," Rink said, adding that he expects prices to hit a high of $2.70 to $2.80 a gallon in May, barring any disasters or major interruptions.
SMART bus saves money
Mike Stephen's decision to take the SMART bus to his job at Wayne State University three years ago wasn't entirely because of high gas prices. But now that he sees how much money his family is saving by taking the bus, he's planning to stick with it.
"We cannot afford to have $400 to $500 gas bills each month," said Stephen, a 43-year-old Detroit resident and a research grant administrator at Wayne State.
Between gas, the $45 monthly parking fee at the university and car payments, Stephen figures his family saves thousands of dollars each year by only having one car. For $66 a month, he gets unlimited use of the bus.