Some people might have had to apply for payday loans to buy gas in July, but that certainly isn’t the case today. Though gas prices are slowly creeping back up after hitting four-year lows, the average price today is $1.62. That’s certainly an improvement from the $4.11 peak in July.
Some interesting phenomena grew out of the crazy fluctuations in gas prices. Here are some of the ways in which gas prices affected behavior in our country.
- Image via Wikipedia
‘Bus people’ becomes bigger demographic
As people probably suspected, public transportation became more popular when gas prices skyrocketed in the summer. From July to September, ridership was up 6.5 percent compared to last year.
The interesting thing is what happened to public transportation ridership when gas prices shot back down: Nothing. Well, not nothing, but not much. Many people chose to continue using public transportation after gas prices went back down just because they had grown used to it.
My thoughts? In the past, some categories of people looked down on “bus people,” and buses had a bad reputation. People viewed riding the bus as low-class. When gas prices pushed more people of different demographics onto the bus, the stigma was dropped when people realized how many benefits come with riding the bus. Number one benefit: Not paying or looking for parking.
Driving: Not so popular anymore
Obviously, if more people are still using public transportation, fewer people are driving. But it isn’t just the bus people who are cutting down the driving statistics. Americans as a whole are simply driving less, even though they don’t need payday loans to afford gas anymore.
Between November 2007 and October 2008 Americans drove 100 billion miles fewer than they did last year. The Department of Transportation has called it the most dramatic continuous decline in history.
I think this phenomenon can be attributed to a combination of increasingly educated citizens when it comes to energy use, gas prices and continued attention in politics focused on energy efficiency and the environment.
Talk about a tax hike
While less driving is good for the environment, it’s not good for state budgets. As Americans buy less gas, that means they are paying less in gas taxes. In fact, driving has declined so much that the federal commission that oversees financing for transportation is considering a tax hike.
Money from gas taxes goes toward highway and public road construction and repair. The commission is urging a 50 percent increase in the gas tax to ensure these services will continue to be funded.
The man behind the pump
A gas tax hike will only make things worse for already struggling gas station owners. Gas stations only make 30 percent of their profit from gas, even though gas constitutes 70 percent of their sales. The majority of their profit comes from buying food and other goods inside the store.
Traffic is everything for gas station profits. When more people buy gas, more come inside and contribute to the station’s profits. As more and more people are skipping trips to the gas station, profits are falling, falling, falling.
If these trends continue, it might be gas station owners applying for payday loans.
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I know a lot of people who starting taking the bus when gas prices were soaring at their highest. I thought about it myself, but I like the convenience of car and luckily I don’t have to pay for parking.
Last summer was horrible. High gas prices had really taken a toll on many. People who had never considered taking a city bus were seen waiting at bus stops. A lot of people were either taking a bus or riding a bike (which is great for the environment). Besides the fact that gas prices have dropped significantly, the economy is still tearing up people’s finances in general. It’s wise to educate yourself on proper money management skills. Mastering spending and saving techniques will save you many troubles in the long run. Whether it’s taking a bus or cutting coupons, anything you can do to save some money, do.
If more people are riding the bus that is good for the environment! I do have to say by hiking up the gas tax more people will drive less and less and ride the bus more. It doesn’t benefit anyone if the gas tax increases seeing that less people will be on the roads driving maybe we should tax those that take the bus? I just find it hard to tax those that are still driving which they want more people driving, it will just cause people to start riding the bus more often so they don’t have to pay extra money.