Gasoline Prices.

[passengerfan]

With the price at the pumps soon expected to soar past $2.00 per gallon, is it any wonder more commuters in our area are turning to the Altamont Commuter Express. The service would be just great except for its on time performance thanks to Uncle Pete who has had a lot of line closures etc, due to weather and backlogs of freight both in and out of the state. Its to bad they can't seem to get their act together as this service has a lot to offer and will continue to grow if given half a chance.
The Gas prices are beginning to soar just as the warmer weather arrives and now many people hopefully will consider the trains for their next trips especially here in California. Now is not the time to be short changing Amtrak and write your Congressman and Senator and let them know.

[AntonioFP45]

10-4 on that guy!

It may get even bumpier ahead as OPEC members have openly admitted their goal is to steadily increase petroleum prices over the next 5 years. Gasoline at $3.00 per gallon in the U.S.A is no longer a laughable, far fetched fantasy.

I do respect the President, but his transportation policies need a serious makeover. We're laying more concrete highways than ever, but gridlock increases exponentially. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

Class 1 railroad managers are under pressure to produce profit and eliminate expenses, so unfortunately companies like "step-Uncle Pete" are going to continue to show hostility towards passenger rail.

Norfolk Southern seemed like an oasis recently as there was a thread made here about it receiving funding to upgrade it's mainline in an area for commuter service. Generated some good PR. Hopefully UP will change it's tone one day.

[spbed]

Does not your commuter agency pay uncle Pete to operate the service? If they do is their performance requirements on the part of uncle Pete to get the $$$$$$$? Having worked in the steamship industry while no one reads the clauses on the bill of lading but if they did they would find what is called a "force majure" clause which would be triggered in case of floods, mudslides, washouts or any other kind of event considered outside normal operations. [:o)]

QUOTE: Originally posted by passengerfan

With the price at the pumps soon expected to soar past $2.00 per gallon, is it any wonder more commuters in our area are turning to the Altamont Commuter Express. The service would be just great except for its on time performance thanks to Uncle Pete who has had a lot of line closures etc, due to weather and backlogs of freight both in and out of the state. Its to bad they can't seem to get their act together as this service has a lot to offer and will continue to grow if given half a chance.
The Gas prices are beginning to soar just as the warmer weather arrives and now many people hopefully will consider the trains for their next trips especially here in California. Now is not the time to be short changing Amtrak and write your Congressman and Senator and let them know.

[Modelcar]

....I'm for the part of the Presidents Transportation policies needing overhauling....We're doing for people all over the mid eastern world and seemingly just letting our services here crumble with not much regard....Highways and public rail transportation...
It's time we do some heavy lifting in this country for OUR citizens....

[spbed]

H'mm how does this sound to you? NYS is chipping in millions of $$$$$ to assist the zillionaire Johnson & Johnson heir to build a football stadium in NYC but says that they have no $$$$$$ to help out commuter agencies so that they can operate more trains & get more cars off the road. [:o)]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

....I'm for the part of the Presidents Transportation policies needing overhauling....We're doing for people all over the mid eastern world and seemingly just letting our services here crumble with not much regard....Highways and public rail transportation...
It's time we do some heavy lifting in this country for OUR citizens....

[Anonymous]

I do say this,I won't be doing very much Railfanning this summer if the Price of Gas keeps going up!
BNSFrailfan.

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by passengerfan

With the price at the pumps soon expected to soar past $2.00 per gallon...

Only a slight climb around here. We consider ourselves luck if it dips below $2.00, and I saw a convenience store displaying $2.139 for unleaded regular on Monday... Mid-grade and premium haven't seen a 1 in their price for a l o n g time.[:(]

[Modelcar]

....Building these massive sport stadium in cities seems to be the big issue in many locations now...even right here in our own Indianapolis....{For the Colts}, and it is a thorny one....Don't know what the answer should be. Many owners threat to leave the city if the city doesn't build them a new one...etc...Personally, I believe the franchise should have to shoulder more of the cost...and much less on local taxpayers.

[spbed]

If the CNBC whz bangs are correct they say within the next few weeks be prepared for $2.25 to $2.50 per gallon. [:(]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BNSF railfan.

I do say this,I won't be doing very much Railfanning this summer if the Price of Gas keeps going up!
BNSFrailfan.

[Modelcar]

....We're not far off ....Just this past weekend we had $2.09. So what will the next jump produce...?

[spbed]

Well I do not how deep the Colts owner pockets are but the Jets owners pockets are really deep, deep in fact they are now saying he will now be buying Cablevision which includes the Knicks/Rangers but the state is still going to subsidy him to build the stadium. To me it is mind boggling that a public entity (the state) will give millions to a zillionaire to build a stadium that very few of the taxpayers will ever use. Makes you wonder about the goals of the people we elect to supposely govern us. [:o)]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

....Building these massive sport stadium in cities seems to be the big issue in many locations now...even right here in our own Indianapolis....{For the Colts}, and it is a thorny one....Don't know what the answer should be. Many owners threat to leave the city if the city doesn't build them a new one...etc...Personally, I believe the franchise should have to shoulder more of the cost...and much less on local taxpayers.

[spbed]

We have gone from $1.95 to $2.10 here in the Lower SE in about 5 days! [:(]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

....We're not far off ....Just this past weekend we had $2.09. So what will the next jump produce...?

[Modelcar]

....City government is now trying to figure out how to finance a brand new removable roof stadium right here in Indy.....Don't know how that will sort out but it seems they are trying to do it without a burden to tax payers....We'll soon see.

[ValleyX]

The way the Colts play in cold weather, the roof should be closed in warm weather and left open in cold, for Colts seasoning, to get ready to play the Patriots again. Not that I'd want to play in cold weather, but then no one would pay me $$$$$$$$$$$$ to do it, either. (nor would I want to sit through the game in cold weather, for that matter).

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by spbed

Well I do not how deep the Colts owner pockets are but the Jets owners pockets are really deep, deep in fact they are now saying he will now be buying Cablevision which includes the Knicks/Rangers but the state is still going to subsidy him to build the stadium. To me it is mind boggling that a public entity (the state) will give millions to a zillionaire to build a stadium that very few of the taxpayers will ever use. Makes you wonder about the goals of the people we elect to supposely govern us. [:o)]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

....Building these massive sport stadium in cities seems to be the big issue in many locations now...even right here in our own Indianapolis....{For the Colts}, and it is a thorny one....Don't know what the answer should be. Many owners threat to leave the city if the city doesn't build them a new one...etc...Personally, I believe the franchise should have to shoulder more of the cost...and much less on local taxpayers.

Despite the fact that few of the taxpayers will ever actually visit a stadium, sports fans tend to be a rabid bunch, and you'll garner little favor with the electorate if their favorite team packs up and leaves town.

Don't forget, too, that a stadium generates revenue far beyond its walls. The out-of-towner who travels in for a game may stay at a hotel (room tax), buy food (supports local business, generating jobs), and may have paid a toll to cross a bridge, drive on a tollway, or even generated some sort of landing fee at the airport.

That's not to say that the income will ever balance with the outgo.

That said, only if ALL of the cities tell the sports teams to build their own facilities will the madness end. As long as someone is willing to kowtow to the team owners wishes, the problem will remain.

And just to keep this in a slightly railroad bent, stop by the Montana discussions.

[spbed]

All you posted has some validity. But you talking here of NYC the media capital suppsoely of the world so I doubt the same factors that are in Indy are in NYC & the Jets will scoot off to places unknown. Now I am returning to the Montana thread. [:o)]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68

QUOTE: Originally posted by spbed

Well I do not how deep the Colts owner pockets are but the Jets owners pockets are really deep, deep in fact they are now saying he will now be buying Cablevision which includes the Knicks/Rangers but the state is still going to subsidy him to build the stadium. To me it is mind boggling that a public entity (the state) will give millions to a zillionaire to build a stadium that very few of the taxpayers will ever use. Makes you wonder about the goals of the people we elect to supposely govern us. [:o)]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

....Building these massive sport stadium in cities seems to be the big issue in many locations now...even right here in our own Indianapolis....{For the Colts}, and it is a thorny one....Don't know what the answer should be. Many owners threat to leave the city if the city doesn't build them a new one...etc...Personally, I believe the franchise should have to shoulder more of the cost...and much less on local taxpayers.

Despite the fact that few of the taxpayers will ever actually visit a stadium, sports fans tend to be a rabid bunch, and you'll garner little favor with the electorate if their favorite team packs up and leaves town.

Don't forget, too, that a stadium generates revenue far beyond its walls. The out-of-towner who travels in for a game may stay at a hotel (room tax), buy food (supports local business, generating jobs), and may have paid a toll to cross a bridge, drive on a tollway, or even generated some sort of landing fee at the airport.

That's not to say that the income will ever balance with the outgo.

That said, only if ALL of the cities tell the sports teams to build their own facilities will the madness end. As long as someone is willing to kowtow to the team owners wishes, the problem will remain.

And just to keep this in a slightly railroad bent, stop by the Montana discussions.

[oltmannd]

Gasoline at $2.00 / gallon still is LESS than it was in the 1960s (adjusted for inflation), and is even a greater bargain if measured as a % of income.

So, I wouldn't expect to see much change in behavior until prices get somewhat higher.

[Anonymous]

I suggest everyone do a google search on Peak Oil.... Yes, gasoline prices will continue to rise, $3 a galllon is not out of the question in 2 years, $4 a gallon is not out of the picture in 4 years, $5 a gallon is very probable in 6 years.....

No matter how high it goes up, we the consumers of gasoline, have not dropped our consumption, as demand keeps going up..... And with China continuing to consume more oil, we are doomed.....

Why anyone wants to buy a SUV or a large pickup, anything larger than a 4 cyclinder engine, is beyond me! Why the average house being built in America today is over 2,000 square feet, mini mansions are what they are building, is beyond me..... You'd think with doubling our energy costs in 2 years people would be buying smaller homes of 1,000 square feet instead.....

Half our energy use is to heat and air condition a home......

[csxengineer98]

QUOTE: Originally posted by donclark

I suggest everyone do a google search on Peak Oil.... Yes, gasoline prices will continue to rise, $3 a galllon is not out of the question in 2 years, $4 a gallon is not out of the picture in 4 years, $5 a gallon is very probable in 6 years.....

No matter how high it goes up, we the consumers of gasoline, have not dropped our consumption, as demand keeps going up..... And with China continuing to consume more oil, we are doomed.....

Why anyone wants to buy a SUV or a large pickup, anything larger than a 4 cyclinder engine, is beyond me! Why the average house being built in America today is over 2,000 square feet, mini mansions are what they are building, is beyond me..... You'd think with doubling our energy costs in 2 years people would be buying smaller homes of 1,000 square feet instead.....

Half our energy use is to heat and air condition a home......

why would anyone want a 4 cylinder pickup truck or SUV... no power..or little power for hulling... cant pull a boat for crap behind a 4 cylinder.... and as far as the size of houses....if i want a big house...im getting a big house.... ever hear of high efficancy heating....geothermal heating... lots of aways to cut heating and cooling bills if you set your house up right...size dont mean crap..its how well you have it insulated and how effient your AC and furnes are.... you can live in your 1000 sq feet house..but i myself like lost of open space and big rooms...makes me feel more comfortable like the walls arnt closing in on me.....
csx engineer

[Anonymous]

Heh. During the Gulf War 1 we truckers threatened to national strike the USA if desiel hit 2.00 a gallon.

My gas price in Arkansas stands at 2.10 a gallon for premium. We have three older cars and they refuse to run very well on lower octanes.

Now everyone is used to paying 2 bucks for gas and maybe a bit more for desiel.

I find it interesting that some folks are now bringing in houses that are way too big for cheap use of energy. Is it these same folks who advocated very large basement empires and have problems paying the utility bills these days?

My home runs on Natural gas. We try to defend ourselves by "Averaging" the cost across 12 months. We usually consume about 8 CCF a month. But we do have spikes in the winter. (Heat, cooking, hot water) as high as 50 ccf.

It does not help that the rates are increasing across the board for everything that we use to consume energy.

No way will America give up it's love for large cars and SUV's. We can have gas prices as high as 10 dollars a gallon and they will be able to fill that vehicle up, commuting to work is another problem entirely.

I calculate that two people commuting to work 40 miles away will cost about 17 dollars a day on gasoline for two vehicles. That works out to 85 dollars a week or about 340- a month in gasoline. This does not include any other driving such as food shopping, errands, visits and church.

When people are being paid minimum wage or a little bit over (call it 8.00/hr) then gasoline for the commute actually becomes too expensive.

[Anonymous]

We just now hit $2.05 today.
BNSFrailfan.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by csxengineer98

QUOTE: Originally posted by donclark

I suggest everyone do a google search on Peak Oil.... Yes, gasoline prices will continue to rise, $3 a galllon is not out of the question in 2 years, $4 a gallon is not out of the picture in 4 years, $5 a gallon is very probable in 6 years.....

No matter how high it goes up, we the consumers of gasoline, have not dropped our consumption, as demand keeps going up..... And with China continuing to consume more oil, we are doomed.....

Why anyone wants to buy a SUV or a large pickup, anything larger than a 4 cyclinder engine, is beyond me! Why the average house being built in America today is over 2,000 square feet, mini mansions are what they are building, is beyond me..... You'd think with doubling our energy costs in 2 years people would be buying smaller homes of 1,000 square feet instead.....

Half our energy use is to heat and air condition a home......

why would anyone want a 4 cylinder pickup truck or SUV... no power..or little power for hulling... cant pull a boat for crap behind a 4 cylinder.... and as far as the size of houses....if i want a big house...im getting a big house.... ever hear of high efficancy heating....geothermal heating... lots of aways to cut heating and cooling bills if you set your house up right...size dont mean crap..its how well you have it insulated and how effient your AC and furnes are.... you can live in your 1000 sq feet house..but i myself like lost of open space and big rooms...makes me feel more comfortable like the walls arnt closing in on me.....
csx engineer

That's why I got rid of my V8 for a V6 Instead!
BNSFrailfan.

[miniwyo]

I guess its just the piece of mind here in Wyoming but, we see gas prices going up as a good thing, it means that oil costs more, meaning that there is more drilling operations, especially here, therefore more money into the oilfield in the state, giving the state more money. Also all the people who work in the oilfield make more money.

Also you all have ot think, if gas cost more back in the 1960s than it does now due to inflation, then it also means eventually, as the price of gas goes up then also the amount of pay will go up.
I think they were just talking about raising the minimum wage just this week.

[Modelcar]

...But the minimum wage increase was defeated by the majority.

[locomutt]

$2.00 dollars for a gallon of gas ?????
Check your wallet or pocket book, and see if you have tht much!!!!!

What Modelcar said is very true,for SOME of us who live on "Fixed Incomes"
That,doesn't help us at all.

[Anonymous]

2.11 here in Arkansas. I keep my cars close to home so I hardly pay anything in gas thank god. There are many large vehicle users (Pickups, SUV's etc) that must commute to Little Rock every day and I am beginning to recognize them several times a week when they stop to fill up.

Part of the problem is the so called compact vehicle is just too small to survive a crash, haul a trailer, bring in goods from the Home Depot etc.

Also the larger the vehicle the more room you are given during rush hour especially when you are way past 70+ mph trying to make it to work ahead of everyone else. If that is not a fuel efficient speed then I dont know what is. These folks who fight and shove thier way past other traffic are bullies who waste money in gas and have no one to blame but themselves.

Refining capacity worries me more than the gas prices. I believe that in order to keep up with future growth we must construct more refineries and encourage hybrid and other technologies for vehicles. It is still possible to power a vehicle and out run fossil fueled cars today. Imagine what can be done in the future if we are really serious about easing the amount of gasoline we consume a day.

[Anonymous]

We can do as the Europeans and Japanese do..... when it comes to hauling freight such as a big screen televison from Walmart.
A.) Rent a truck
B.) Have the store deliver
C.) Hire someone else to deliver

Why people claim they have to buy a SUV when their SUV never sees the light of day off a paved highway is beyond me... Why people claim they have to have a pickup when the largest thing they have ever hauled in its bed is a big screen television is beyond me....

Yes, even ranchers and farmers in Europe and Japan manage to do well using the above options without a pickup.....

And there is always the 4 cyclinder compact pickup.....

Up until the new release of the 2004 Volkswagen Golf this year, for the past 3 years the largest selling car in Europe was the Volkswagen Lupo....then the Volkswagen Polo, and then the Volkswagen Golf. The Lupo is a three cyclinder very small car, what the Europeans are calling a city car, which gets over 60 MPG in its diesel configuration....

In Europe a fuel efficient vehicle is 60 MPG, in America most think 30 MPG is fuel efficient..... That's the problem!

As for large houses, dream on! A new large house with all the modern energy efficiencies don't save you half your electricity bill.... what's saved in heating and air conditioning is wasted on more lights and applicances being used....

A new small house with all the modern energy efficiencies will result in half the energy bill of a new large house twice as large,,,,, Lets not compare old houses with new.....that's like comparing apples with oranges.....

[spbed]

Well it is already $2.10 in the lower SE altready. The TV news says within one month it will be $2.50 per gallon here [:(]

QUOTE: Originally posted by locomutt

$2.00 dollars for a gallon of gas ?????
Check your wallet or pocket book, and see if you have tht much!!!!!

What Modelcar said is very true,for SOME of us who live on "Fixed Incomes"
That,doesn't help us at all.

[oltmannd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by donclark

We can do as the Europeans and Japanese do..... when it comes to hauling freight such as a big screen televison from Walmart.
A.) Rent a truck
B.) Have the store deliver
C.) Hire someone else to deliver

Why people claim they have to buy a SUV when their SUV never sees the light of day off a paved highway is beyond me... Why people claim they have to have a pickup when the largest thing they have ever hauled in its bed is a big screen television is beyond me....

Yes, even ranchers and farmers in Europe and Japan manage to do well using the above options without a pickup.....

And there is always the 4 cyclinder compact pickup.....

Up until the new release of the 2004 Volkswagen Golf this year, for the past 3 years the largest selling car in Europe was the Volkswagen Lupo....then the Volkswagen Polo, and then the Volkswagen Golf. The Lupo is a three cyclinder very small car, what the Europeans are calling a city car, which gets over 60 MPG in its diesel configuration....

In Europe a fuel efficient vehicle is 60 MPG, in America most think 30 MPG is fuel efficient..... That's the problem!

As for large houses, dream on! A new large house with all the modern energy efficiencies don't save you half your electricity bill.... what's saved in heating and air conditioning is wasted on more lights and applicances being used....

A new small house with all the modern energy efficiencies will result in half the energy bill of a new large house twice as large,,,,, Lets not compare old houses with new.....that's like comparing apples with oranges.....

Don-

You're not suggesting that we should restrict people's ability to choose how to spend their money, are you? Even if they want to spend it on things you don't understand?

I cannot understand anyone wanting to hunt or fish or keep a gun in their house, but I think it's just fine for others if that's what they want to do with their time and money -- even if I personally would judge the activity "wasteful" or "dangerous".

[oltmannd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by donclark

I suggest everyone do a google search on Peak Oil.... Yes, gasoline prices will continue to rise, $3 a galllon is not out of the question in 2 years, $4 a gallon is not out of the picture in 4 years, $5 a gallon is very probable in 6 years.....

No matter how high it goes up, we the consumers of gasoline, have not dropped our consumption, as demand keeps going up..... And with China continuing to consume more oil, we are doomed.....

Why anyone wants to buy a SUV or a large pickup, anything larger than a 4 cyclinder engine, is beyond me! Why the average house being built in America today is over 2,000 square feet, mini mansions are what they are building, is beyond me..... You'd think with doubling our energy costs in 2 years people would be buying smaller homes of 1,000 square feet instead.....

Half our energy use is to heat and air condition a home......

I would think that biofuel (like ethanol) and reforming and refining coal gas would result in liquid transportation fuels less than $5/gallon. How about $3/gallon for a ceiling? I could live with that. $5/gallon ought to get you fuel from oil shale. Petroleum isn't the only source of liquid fuels for transportation. It's just been the cheapest so far.

Large SUVs? For towing.

Large homes? Large incomes. What else are people gonna spend their money on? (Besides gasoline for their SUVs and RVs)