• MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world
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    22 hours ago

    Car commuters: try to get gas while the prices are still cheap

    Cycle commuters: “Look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power”

  • 5715@feddit.org
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    1 day ago

    Is this per US gallon? That’d be $0.92/l or 0.79€/l. That’s less than the fuel tax alone in many EU countries, so extremely cheap.

    • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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      9 hours ago

      I pay €1.30ish per liter if I help someone cheat on taxes. Otherwise it’s more like €1.80-1.90 right now for diesel

    • Art3mis@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      Yeah gas here is very rarely over $5/gallon. Like some inner city gas stations might get that high but most places are 3.50 or less. Super car dependent infrastructure though. Most places in the us would be nearly impossible to not have a car and make a living

      • blarghly@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        I believe the gas station at Crescent Junction in Utah charges about $8/gal to make a buck off the tourists who weren’t smart enough to carry enough fuel to make it to Moab. Americans will consider this price to be outrageous, and possibly immoral.

        Otoh, they have tacky UFO trinkets.

      • 5715@feddit.org
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        17 hours ago

        In my EU area, the gas price is equivalent to $9.3/gal at the moment. I’ve never seen it above $8.1/gal before and the last time I had a car I usually bought it for $5.52/gal. This fuel price hike is gonna make EVERYTHING more expensive, because of the cost of logistics affecting the whole economy. Fuck fossil fuel logistics and fuck this war.

        • Art3mis@lemmy.world
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          8 hours ago

          Thats insane 😭 I dont drive anyways, but i think people would literally riot if it got that high here

  • N0t_5ure@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I’m with the program. This is my grocery getter with the removable front basket on after a costco run.

  • kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 day ago

    My commute would be three hours each way by bike (if I had the stamina to even ride that long). God, I hate this country. Someday, though.

      • kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        22 hours ago

        Even if that doubled my speed, 90 minutes each way isn’t exactly doable, and the weather here is pretty variable (it isn’t unusual for the same year to have at least one day each above 100F and below 0F).

        • AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works
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          18 hours ago

          I live in a city with that kind of temperature variability and I commute by ebike about nine months of the year since I can’t get studded tires for my bike and my route just isn’t safe without them. That said, I’m only traveling about 40 minutes each way (~7.5 miles) - I’ve done rides of 90 minutes each way and there’s absolutely nights I want to keep riding rather than going straight home, but there’s also nights I’m happy to get home and have a bowl of soup. That said, I know of at least one lemming who does that kind of commute but I think she lives somewhere with less extreme winters and I think it’d be weird to tag her for this lol.

          Also at that kind of distance you’re looking at range issues if traveling at full pedal assist on most ebikes if you can’t charge at work.

          … And this is assuming your car commute time isn’t due to traffic gridlock. Although I assume you’d mention it if you lived somewhere like that.

        • kittenzrulz123@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          15 hours ago

          I mean depending on your state and what ebike laws there are you might be able to get an ebike that can go up to 28mph (again see your local states laws)

          • blarghly@lemmy.world
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            11 hours ago

            I mean, at that point you may as well get a motorcycle. Then you can keep up with traffic. Not ideal from an environmental standpoint, but sometimes you just gotta be practical.

            Otoh, imo more people should focus their efforts on moving somewhere better, which allows them to reduce their dependence on personal motor vehicles. This is certainly the case for the above poster. Spending 3 hours commuting each day isn’t a practical solution for almost anyone. But spending the 2 hours you could spend commuting by ebike every day dedicating yourself to looking for different jobs, upskilling in your career, or searching for affordable places to live in more walkable parts of town is quite practical

            • kittenzrulz123@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              10 hours ago

              Getting an ebike is cheaper and doesn’t require moving, on top of that depending on the area moving to a walkable area might require moving to a completely different state. Not everyone can just pick up and switch jobs, move houses, and just plant their lives somewhere else.

              • blarghly@lemmy.world
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                10 hours ago

                iirc, a fast ebike that can hit ~30mph will run you about $1500 or more. I got my current motorcycle off of marketplace for $1000, and it can easily hit 65mph. Absent dedicated cycling infrastructure, this seems like a much safer and practical option to me. I’m not saying there is no use case for ebikes, and I am excited to see them enter the used market - but for this particular use case at this particular time, an ice moto or scooter seems like a better tool for the job.

                And certainly, not everyone can move at any given time. But as elucidated by the problems the above poster has, not everyone can afford 3 hours of ebike commuting at any given time, either. Again, I think ebikes are great and I want to see more of them. But they won’t be the best solution to all problems at all times.

                However, the point I want to make is that making big life changes like moving (potentially to a different neighborhood, or maybe a different country) or getting a different job are options that people should be considering pretty consistently. If you are someone who hates commuting by car, spending 3 hours each day commuting by ebike in an auto oriented environment is probably not really going to make you any happier. You are now losing 2 hours of your day in order to enjoy getting buzzed by F150s, inhaling their diesel fumes. The solution this person’s problem is clearly to live somewhere that is less auto oriented. And that probably won’t happen next week. It might not even happen for a few years. But it is important to recognize that this is the end goal, and then to start figuring out a plan to achieve that goal, which will probably take the form of dedicating some time each day to things like releaving yourself of family obligations, career upskilling, researching other places to live, etc.

                Taking daily steps to improve your life while being miserable, to me at least, seems like a better use of time than just being miserable, but on a bicycle.

  • backalleycoyote@lemmy.today
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    1 day ago

    I live in walking distance to work and pass a gas station. Been watching it. Monday night on my way home at 9pm it was $3.20, Tuesday at noon it was $3.49. Tonight it was $3.59. And still my boss doesn’t understand why I choose to walk for half an hour instead of drive in five.

    • ergonomic_importer@piefed.ca
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      12 hours ago

      You could probably bike it in five also. I went from walking to biking for my commute and I really enjoyed having the option to go home for lunch or to detour and grab some groceries after work.

      • backalleycoyote@lemmy.today
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        12 hours ago

        Yeah, but I work doggie daycare and both my dogs are deaf and one is deaf/blind. They’re leash trained and can function in a play group but my blind gal drifts while walking so biking is just not for her. I could probably get her to ride in a pull behind but she loves her walks.

  • OriginEnergySux@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I feel like its only a matter of time until governments charge cyclists the same road tax as drivers to make up for them not buying petrol

    • teslekova@sh.itjust.works
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      18 hours ago

      Possible. Although it’d be financially stupid, because bikes do less road damage, so they save repair money. Would not stop lots of politicians, of course.

    • 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      That wouldnt make sense

      Its not like we just bury the saved money in the ground…

      The money i save by not having a car, i spend… which collects sales taxes and supports the local economy

      So in theory it should lead to more or same revenues as taxes generated from cars

      • drkt@scribe.disroot.org
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        24 hours ago

        That wouldnt make sense

        Still working from the assumption that they do anything on a basis of logic.

    • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      I pay a road tax for an EV. Whenever they cut the gas tax in my state (which is frequently, I don’t think it’s actually been back at “full” since 2020) they conveniently forget to reduce the registration fee for EVs to match.