Petrol prices

[tag1963]

Try this on for size. Here in San Diego, $3.75 for regular unleaded and $3.99 for super unleaded. Prices jumped .16 cents in one week. They're saying that by the summer travel season begins, gas will be well over $4 dollars a gallon.

 

[tag1963]

Gas prices are based on supply and demand. The US has nothing to with gas prices. OPEC sets the production rate and bases it's cost per barrel of oil based on the market and supply and demand. Remember, oil is a world commodity not a US commodity. But I can see how people would think that the US sets it's own prices, I mean we did use 7.9 billion barrels last year and that number rises every year. The United States and China are the largest consumers of oil.

 

[Cloggy]

I lived in the subburbs of London, England back in 1980-82 and I would like to remind everyone contributing to this thread that in most of the UK/Europe people actually have a viable choice in public transportation. Whether it is the bus, subway, or train, the price is reasonablly cheap (especially when you purchase a monthly pass) and they pretty much run on time 7 days a week.
Here in Texas (and most of the USA) the service (if you could call it that) is also cheap (if you can access it) but it is very slow and unreliable. Train and subway services for most Americans simply do not exist. Riding the bus is out of the question for most because there are so few buses running and the schedule is so whack, that it could take you hours to get to your job. Don't even think about riding a bus on a Sunday; it could be hours before the next one comes along, if at all.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I would rather ride the subway than my bike:thumbup:, but I would ride the subway/train for a couple of dollars to work on rainy/cold days instead of climbing into my cage and burning the gas. For me public transportation is not even an option. No train, subway, or bus runs between my house and my job.
The price of fuel in UK/Europe is the reason why so many people there either ride public transportation or ride a motorcycle/scooter. More and more people see me on the FZ6 and ask me "what kind of gas mileage do ya' get on that"? As I look at them sitting in their Ford Expedition, GMC Yukon, Dodge Ram, (all huge SUV's or pickup's), I gotta smile as I tell them 50-60mpg and a whole hell of a lot more fun than a hybrid:rockon:. If there is one good thing about rising fuel costs, the size of the motorcycling community is growing in the USA, and no matter what they're riding, I'm glad to see it.

Mistereman you have knocked the nail on the head, although not available everywhere most people can get around by public transport in the Uk and definately in Holland.
The US is a different matter, I remember being on pensacola beach (Island) and the only bus was in the weekend and then there was only one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I would normally hire a car in the states but I was only staying for a few days and I could generally get a lift if necessary. Anyway I only wanted to go for a walk on the mainland beach (national park) so I ended up walking along the hard shoulder on the bridge to get to the other side.
Anyway it is very true that because of the high fuel prices the europeans have generally worked out some kind of public transport.

 

[Bren]

Here's an update:

 

[GastonJ]

Well I filled up this afternoon, in the UK btw, cost was 1.16UKP per litre, working on 3.85 litres to the US gallon, and 1.986 US dollars to the UKP, then I paid 8.75 dollars per gallon. Going for the Euro, it'd be 1.6 Euro's a litre.

Of course in the UK around 72% of that is tax :jawdrop:

 

[Nelly]

Well I filled up this afternoon, in the UK btw, cost was 1.16UKP per litre, working on 3.85 litres to the US gallon, and 1.986 US dollars to the UKP, then I paid 8.75 dollars per gallon. Going for the Euro, it'd be 1.6 Euro's a litre.

Of course in the UK around 72% of that is tax :jawdrop:

Tell me about it mate,

$4.00 a gallon luxury lol.

Nelly

 

[GastonJ]

Ah, but you have to take into account the wages in the US, and other countries. When I was there in 2006 I was in North Carolina. A few friends of my brother earnt between $16,000 and $20,000 a year, probably making a gallon of petrol around the relative same price. Therefore, without wages/cost of living taken into account, just comparing the price of a gallon isn't a fair comparison.

May be worth comparing with the average wage, and 1 litre petrol as a percentage of that.

 

[GConn]

Wow... only in America?!

No. not really. I remember paying below 10c the litre for diesel fuel and 23c for petrol back in 2002-2003 i think. It's 5-10 times that now...

 

[Mattberkshire]

I'm currently running my car on biodiesel at £1.05 a litre which is 25p a litre cheaper than diesel. There's a bloke in an industrial estate nearby who buys it from restaurants, filters it, adds some additives and sells it on. Totally above board. The saving is in the tax. He (we) pays 20p a litre less because it is bio.

Car runs well but stinks of chippy's!!!!:Flash:

 

[pedwards89]

I can't start this sentence without sounding like me Dad (Or three Yorkshire men).

I remember when I had my first bike a Yammie FS1E, petrol was 43p a gallon & although litres didn't exist back then, that was 10p a litre. That was 1976.

A year ago when I bought the Fazer it cost me £14 to fill the tank at 80 odd pence per litre. An increase over 30 years of 7% per year.

Yesterday I paid £1.16 a litre, £20 to fill the tank - That's a 42% increase in one year. Anybody had a 42% cost of living rise recently - No I didn't think so.

 

[GastonJ]

I think we're all resigned to the fact that at the end of the day petrol will get more and more expensive. It would also appear that the % rise per year gets to be more.

The question really does have to be "when will you consider petrol so expensive that you'll give up your bike rather than pay?" Will it be when it hits £1.50 a litre, £2.00 or do you not wish to think of it? :noworries:

 

[Nelly]

I think we're all resigned to the fact that at the end of the day petrol will get more and more expensive. It would also appear that the % rise per year gets to be more.

The question really does have to be "when will you consider petrol so expensive that you'll give up your bike rather than pay?" Will it be when it hits £1.50 a litre, £2.00 or do you not wish to think of it? :noworries:

With my bike being more economical than my car, I gave up the car ages ago. The reverse of what you are suggesting.

Nelly

 

[GastonJ]

Not at all. The diesel for my car is covered totally by work, or should be so the 25K a year I do in the car I don't pay for and don't care what it costs.

My bike petrol I pay for myself and I was just wondering at what cost folks would either start to cut down on the amount of fuel they would use or give up at all. I'm not suggesting that anyone should give it up, just wondering at what point the price of fuel 'hurts'. eg, is £10 a litre your limit?

 

[Mako]

Portugal:

gasolina 95 -> 1.533€/L -> 5.802€/G
gasolina 98 -> 1.672€/L -> 6.329€/G
Diesel -> 1.435/€L -> 5.431€/G

 

[Cloggy]

I've just come back from a couple of weeks in the Canaries, they were complaining as the petrol had just risen above €1 per litre, soo much cheaper than the the present price in Holland (aprox €1.67 ).

 

[VWci]

Turkey

95 ____ 3.30 YTL / LT ______ $ 2.75 / LT _______ $ 10.37 / Gallon
97 ____ 3.37 YTL / LT ______ $ 2.80 / LT _______ $ 10.59 / Gallon
100 ___ 3.61 YTL / LT ______ $ 2.96 / LT _______ $ 11.19 / Gallon

The most expensive petrol prices we got here...

 

[Scorphonic]

Portugal:

gasolina 95 -> 1.533€/L -> 5.802€/G
gasolina 98 -> 1.672€/L -> 6.329€/G
Diesel -> 1.435/€L -> 5.431€/G

I was in portugal only 2 weeks ago...the prices weren't that high!! have they changed overnight or are you in a region other then Lisboa?

 

[Scorphonic]

I've just come back from a couple of weeks in the Canaries, they were complaining as the petrol had just risen above €1 per litre, soo much cheaper than the the present price in Holland (aprox €1.67 ).

Just over 1 euro...ah now they're having a laugh saying that its too expensive!!

Its cheaper in ireland then Holland, its €1.26 ($1.77) on average here per liter! (although a very well known Dublin company charges about €2 per liter ($2.81 per liter which is $10.67 per US gallon))

 

[kalimo]

Here in Ceuta (Spain) the price of 1 litre of petrol 95 is 0,81 €.

We have a good price for litre

 

[Scorphonic]

Man Im moving to spain!!! Was thinking about spending my future life there (career move that is!)...hope prices keep looking good!