Gasoline is one of the most common expenses for people in the United States, and when its price goes up, people are so economically affected that they begin to take action to counteract the impact.
Here are five ways people are trying to save more in the face of fuel increases:
1–Walking and biking more
In a recent Morning Consult survey, the 44% of respondents said they walked instead of driving in the past month due to high gas prices. Another 18% said that they rode a bicycle as an alternative to driving.
Walking and riding bicycles provide healthy and cheap alternatives to driving.
2–Driving electric vehicles (scooters and cars)
Understandably, interest in electric cars and scooters, as well as battery-powered electric bikes, skyrocketed as gas prices rose higher and higher.
Searches for “electric cars” on Google increased steadily last year and until 2022, before reaching an all-time high in March, when gas prices hit their own all-time highs as well.
Buyers searching for electric vehicles on Cars.com increased by 173% from the end of February to the end of March.
In general, car sales have been slow since the beginning of this 2022 due to ongoing supply chain issues as well as extremely high prices for new and used vehicles alike.
However, electric cars have been hot sellers: Tesla sales increased by 42% year over year in the first quarter of 2022 in the US and now represent the 22% of the luxury vehicle market.
3–Use public transport
Although it is common for gasoline prices to go up and down, public transport costs experience much less magnification. In other words, tickets for buses, trains, subways, and light rail systems are a cheaper option even these days.
Not surprisingly, there are some signs that people are turning more to public transport lately. Rail ridership in South Florida hit a recent peak almost exactly at the same time gas prices were peaking in early March.
4–Do fewer shopping trips, but buy more
Research shows that people are visiting stores less often since gas prices hit record highs in 2022.
During the week of March 7, when the national average reached $4.33 dollars per gallon , US stores experienced the most severe decline in store foot traffic on record for a week in the last twelve months.
Major supermarket chains, such as Albertson’s, have also noted that customers now make fewer trips to the store. People don’t necessarily spend less on groceries, but they are likely to buy more on each trip.
Likewise, the Washington, DC Metro and San Francisco BART public transportation systems have also seen slight increases in the number of passengers since the beginning of March .
In the same Morning Consult survey mentioned above, 15% of Drivers said they used public transportation instead of a car last month due to gas prices.
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