[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'L')ogic meet check writing. Let the battle begin. BTW all those Texans buying 4X4 pickups that get 16 mpg thank you for your efforts.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dolanbaker', 'T')he price of petrol is already around the $10 mark this side of the pond, fuel poverty is common amongst low income workers who rely on cars to get to work.

So for many the cut off point where it's cheaper to quit work and go on the dole is fairly close already.

[vision-master]

1950s Suburban Sprawl

[ralfy]

I'd choose a low number given the point that prices of many other goods and services will also go up.

[Timo]

Rock, Yep! To each his own. My rationales certainly don't fit for everyone, so in that light, don't hold your breath for me to buy you an EV this weekend. If i was landed gentry with unlimited money and generosity, then maybe, but if that was the case, there are a whole lot of other things that would receive higher priority, like actually making all those deferred investments in my coffee business. You've never heard of it, and probably never will, either. It pays for itself, and a little bit extra, but i won't go into debt to make it legit. One step at a time.

One thing i genuinely enjoy about this place is learning about other points of view from people all over the world, all (or most) motivated by a simlar concern, but all with different ways of addressing that concern. No one has a silver bullet to solve everyone's problems, but the exchange of ideas, IMO, does help people deal with new approaches to problems we all recognize as headed our way, some sooner, some later.

[dolanbaker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dolanbaker', 'T')he price of petrol is already around the $10 mark this side of the pond, fuel poverty is common amongst low income workers who rely on cars to get to work.

So for many the cut off point where it's cheaper to quit work and go on the dole is fairly close already.

[noobtube]

It's amazing to see so many people with cars on a site called PeakOil.

Living in a suburb, without decent mass transit (bus, trains, or trolleys), I went from 15-18,000 miles a year in 2006, to less than a 1000/miles today.

Of course, ordering online saves a HUGE amount of gas and the supermarket is within walking distance.

I walk everywhere now and it feels fine (even in the snow and frigid weather).

You learn how to dress, what to carry, the importance of good shoes, and a good hat.

Don't really miss the car and the amount you save is amazing! Cars eat up a lot of resources.

Do we drive to live or live to drive? In the United States, it seems to be the latter.

[AirlinePilot]

I can personally afford to easily pay 10 dollars per. My guess is that the majority of folks in this country cannot manage that given the percentage of disposable income they would need to pay that price. I think north of 7$ a gallon and that percentage becomes everything left over after food and shelter and taxes. Commerce and the economy cant take that price here. We travel far too much and have much larger commutes on average than anyone else in the world. We RELY on personal vehicles like nowhere else and the blowback from these kinds of prices would incite riots in a lot of places.

I believe that for short periods folks could get by, but not anything longer than a few months. After that I would bet most of the lower end economy would crater. All prices would be impacted by increased fuel prices, and with less disposable income available..well ...you get the picture.

My personal feeling is that the price of pain is something north of 7-8$/ gallon here in the US. After that my bet with anyone is that very big changes would have to occur rapidly and we are not set up to do that, nor is anyone thinking about it.

[Logic]

On direct fuel price, it makes no difference to me.
18,000 miles per year, but should settle to 12k to 15k on average. Don't use any gasoline. Will use whatever is used to produce electricity. No need to buy a new car to start using natural gas, or solar, or wind, or even oil.

As others have said though, raising gas prices will have a much broader affect on the economy which will affect us, even though the fuel price will not have an effect on us.

[vtsnowedin]

As long as everybody else is paying the same price for gas it could go to $500 a gallon and I could still buy it. Everybody will have the same opportunities to employ substitutes so only uses for gas that could not be done other ways would survive and the end customer would have no cheaper option.

[astalavista_b]

I am already paying $10 a gallon and I can pay till 30, 40$. So $10 is not an option for me.

[Shaved Monkey]

I don't drive much a few big shopping trips a year and the around town running around.
If it hit $20 or $50 I would just shop less often and get more stuff,if there was anything in the shops at that price.
Shanks pony and the bike would become the local transport of choice.

[ROCKMAN]

Or another question: would you pay the govt an extra $0.15/gallon if you weren’t reminded every time you fill up? Barbara and I may not agree on many things but we both understand how difficult it would be for all politicians to tell the public they’ll have to give the govt more money every time they fill up. If the tax is hidden in the retail price it would not be an obvious reminder. But it still will require a public vote by congress critters to get it passed.

U.S. Business, Labor Leaders Urge Congress to Raise Gas Tax

Reuters - U.S. business and labor leaders urged Congress on Wednesday to raise the federal gasoline tax to prevent a fund that pays for road and bridge projects from running out of money as early as September. The Transportation Department estimates that the Highway Trust Fund, which relies on an 18.4 cents-a-gallon tax on gasoline and 24.4 cents-a-gallon tax on diesel, could run out of money as early as September. The taxes were last raised in 1993.

Trumka said he would support a 15-cents-a-gallon increase in gas and diesel taxes, phased in over three years, to bolster the fund, which takes in about $35 billion a year and is the nation's primary source of money for building and maintaining roads and bridges. "The simplest, most straightforward and most effective way to generate enough revenue is by increasing the federal gasoline and diesel taxes," he said. Donohue, head of the nation's largest business lobby group, also supports a 15-cent increase phased in over three years.

But raising the gas tax may have a tough time getting through Congress. Representative Bill Shuster, chairman of the House of Representatives Transportation Committee, has said he would look to other sources of revenue because he does not think there is enough support for a gas tax hike. Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer has proposed doing away with the gas tax and instead would raise revenue from a levy on oil at refineries. Boxer's committee is working on a multiyear bill for transportation funding to replace existing legislation that expires at the end of September. Boxer said she hoped the bill would be ready for the committee's consideration in April.

The highway fund has been depleted as Americans drive more fuel-efficient vehicles and reduce their driving due to higher gas prices and the slower economy. Donohue pointed to a San Jose State University survey in 2012 that found 58 percent of Americans would support a gas tax increase if the money would be used to build and maintain roads and mass transit.

[Timo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ROCKMAN', ' ')Donohue pointed to a San Jose State University survey in 2012 that found 58 percent of Americans would support a gas tax increase if the money would be used to build and maintain roads and mass transit.

[ROCKMAN]

Timo – Yep…unfortunately mostly a money raising scheme by the govt and not much of an incentive to save. So instead of costing me $60 to fill up it will cost $63. Not much of an incentive to conserve let alone ride a bus.

Yes...I know what I do for a living. But if we are going to use motor fuel more efficiently we've needed to slowly but consistently raised taxes over the last 40 years or so. Sooner or later the market will again be imposing much larger "taxes" on the public. They only difference being those "tax $'s" won't be going to our govt

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shaved Monkey', 'I') don't drive much a few big shopping trips a year and the around town running around.
If it hit $20 or $50 I would just shop less often and get more stuff,if there was anything in the shops at that price.
Shanks pony and the bike would become the local transport of choice.

[WildRose]

I don't know that I can choose a certain dollar amount per gallon or liter as my upper limit, I just know that the more expensive it gets the less I'll drive. I already plan trips carefully to line up my errands and use the least amount of gas possible. As gas gets more expensive, I know that the price of my groceries and the other necessities I shop for will be more expensive too, so the slice in my budget pie for gasoline will shrink in size. I'm already thinking ahead to my retirement and what that will mean as far as my lifestyle goes, and it's looking like my stomping grounds won't cover as much area.

[Rod_Cloutier]

I work for a food wholesaler. All the food comes in by truck- about 35 truck loads a day. We ship almost the same amount out daily, about 35 truck loads a day to our customers.

Everything is predicated on the cost of diesel. Some trucking companies are switching to natural gas, but they are still in the minority. If the cost of diesel rises there are two choices: raise prices for the products we sell and have reduced sales, or let the truck drivers eat the increased costs and have unhappy truck drivers. (Most truck drivers are independent cartage agents) It's a continuous battle between two bad outcomes.

The last time fuel prices took off in 2007-2008 there was continuous talk at work about trucker strikes, work stoppages, people parking their trucks and doing something else for a living. I think most companies will externalize their costs and let someone else suffer the increase in expenses, before they will raise prices and suffer reduced sales and profits. There comes a limit to either approach, when the cost of doing business is greater than the perceived benefit, the business shuts down and people go and do other things. (In aggregate, this means collapse)