Petrol Prices

[royaloak]

Well I NEED a car for 85% of my shifts as there are no trains to get me in on earlies or get me home after lates, and cannot afford to move closer so what am I supposed to do?

 

[BlythPower]

I blame it on Gordon. He's the idiot who's put us in the worst deficit outwith war.

Nothing to do with greedy bankers destroying the global economy then..?

Other than the Tory fear factor, what harm does the deficit do to people on a daily basis? Does it kick them in the nuts, steal their mobile phones or knock down their houses? The way Cameron and co. thrash about in blind panic screaming about the horrors of the dreaded deficit and how hundreds of thousands of jobs should be sacrificed to it, you'd think it was the gravest threat this nation has ever faced. Does the deficit have a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons aimed at Britain? No, though not...

FTT.

 

[mumrar]

Well I NEED a car for 85% of my shifts as there are no trains to get me in on earlies or get me home after lates, and cannot afford to move closer so what am I supposed to do?

I'm in exactly the same situation. Every shift this week means I miss last train (last bus is hours before), so I cycle home from work. Only costs me a banana or so and the water's free.

 

[90019]

Don't cut the benefits. Overhaul the system. When you cut the benefits, you're taking more money away from the majority of people that use the money wisely. :roll:

I think the benefits system should work using something like a voucher system, ones that can only be used for things that are considered to be needed, and if someone wants to buy something with them that isn't considered to be so, it has to be approved or denied beforehand.
I haven't put much thought into this, but I think it would be a better idea than the current system, which allows people to sponge off taxpayers very easily.

 

[Geezertronic]

I'm in exactly the same situation. Every shift this week means I miss last train (last bus is hours before), so I cycle home from work. Only costs me a banana or so and the water's free.

I live in Birmingham and when I am not working from home I work out of either London, Bridgend or Sheffield offices (currently). I can only really get the train (and tube/DLR) to the London offices because it would take considerably longer getting the train to Bridgend or Sheffield than it would do by car.

 

[me123]

I think the benefits system should work using something like a voucher system, ones that can only be used for things that are considered to be needed, and if someone wants to buy something with them that isn't considered to be so, it has to be approved or denied beforehand.
I haven't put much thought into this, but I think it would be a better idea than the current system, which allows people to sponge off taxpayers very easily.

I do think that, for child support allowance, you should maybe give out food and clothing vouchers instead of money. That way, the money's going to help the family rather than buying alcohol, entertainment products or (worst of all) illegal substances. Similarly, fuel allowances should be going straight to fuel bills rather than the post office giving out £50 notes...

It would be unfair to turn all benefits into vouchers, though. Cold hard cash is still going to be needed for some things, and it's not fair to restrict people too far.

What's really needed in the benefits system is to weed out benefits as a lifestyle choice. And the only way that's going to happen is if you cut benefits to those who're not actively seeking a job.
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Nothing to do with greedy bankers destroying the global economy then..?

Yeah, it's been a global crisis. But why were we in recession for longer than anyone else in Europe? It all comes down to one man... G Brown G Brown...

And clearly the deficit's going to affect us, considering parties across the political spectrum are admitting that cuts need to be made. Thankfully, I think the NHS is safe. But there may be noticeable in education and police cuts for example.

 

[mumrar]

I can only really get the train (and tube/DLR) to the London offices because it would take considerably longer getting the train to Bridgend of Sheffield than it would do by car.

Birmingham to Sheffield is 90 miles by road, and takes 1hr15 by train, if you can beat that in a car I'm impressed. Birmingham to Bridgend is 134 miles, and via changing at Bristol Parkway takes around 2hrs30 by train, neither are slow by comparison to road, but it depends when you're travelling. If it's during rush hour at either end the car would struggle to be quicker, but would be by virtue of it's point to point nature.

 

[Kneedown]

In the XC staff magazine this month is a feature on a driver who lives in the peak district where he enjoys flying his helicopter in his spare time! Different league - but he's worked a lot longer than me, and perhaps of course there are other financial factors I know nothing about. Still, it makes you think.

If it's who i'm thinking of then AFAIK it's not actually "his" helicopter. He's a qualified instructor and does some work for flying clubs as well as for some well off individuals. I've been up with him myself a few times.

 

[devon_metro]

One solution is of course trading "gas - guzzling" cars with smaller engined cars. Saves a heap of money.

 

[starrymarkb]

If it's who i'm thinking of then AFAIK it's not actually "his" helicopter. He's a qualified instructor and does some work for flying clubs as well as for some well off individuals. I've been up with him myself a few times.

I was going to say there is also the option of sharing, a lot Cessnas and their ilk are owned by say 10 people - £10k on a share of a Cessna is more realistic then 100k to own on your own

 

[90019]

It would be unfair to turn all benefits into vouchers, though. Cold hard cash is still going to be needed for some things, and it's not fair to restrict people too far.

Yeah, but the current system is a joke and definately needs to be changed.

What's really needed in the benefits system is to weed out benefits as a lifestyle choice. And the only way that's going to happen is if you cut benefits to those who're not actively seeking a job.

The problem with the JSA at the moment is that it's rediculously easy to show that you're searching for work whilst doing absolutely nothing.
When I was on it a couple of months back, I managed to lose all of my stuff one week, and it was just a case of make it up to keep them happy.

 

[Geezertronic]

Birmingham to Sheffield is 90 miles by road, and takes 1hr15 by train, if you can beat that in a car I'm impressed.

Using tomorrow as an example and Birmingham International as my local station:

0645 - Leave Home for Birmingham International (allows for parking and collecting tickets from machine)

0704 - Catch LM service into New Street

0730 - Catch XC service to Sheffield

0843 - Arrive at Sheffield railway station and begin walk to location (near Hilton Hotel, Sheffield)

0900 - Arrive at office (on time)

Total travel time: 2 1/4 hours (car travel time door to door is 1 3/4 hours)

Birmingham to Bridgend is 134 miles, and via changing at Bristol Parkway takes around 2hrs30 by train

Again using tomorrow as an example and Birmingham International as my local station:

0545 - Leave Home for Birmingham International (allows for parking and collecting tickets from machine)

0604 - Catch LM service into New Street

0642 - Catch XC service into Bristol Parkway

0807 - Catch FGW service into Bridgend

0909 - Arrive at Bridgend railway station and begin walk to location (Science Park, Bridgend)

0930 - Arrive at office (30 minutes late)

Total travel time: 3 3/4 hours (car travel time door to door is 2 1/2 hours)

...neither are slow by comparison to road, but it depends when you're travelling. If it's during rush hour at either end the car would struggle to be quicker, but would be by virtue of it's point to point nature.

If I am travelling to London, train is quicker. Not to Sheffield or Bridgend for me

 

[royaloak]

I'm in exactly the same situation. Every shift this week means I miss last train (last bus is hours before), so I cycle home from work. Only costs me a banana or so and the water's free.

I live 50 miles away from work, start around 0500 all week and I aint bloody pedaling THAT!
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One solution is of course trading "gas - guzzling" cars with smaller engined cars. Saves a heap of money.

I drive a 1.0ltr petrol car that cost £800, short of swapping to a small diesel which will cost more to buy, what else is there I can do?

 

[90019]

I drive a 1.0ltr petrol car that cost £800, short of swapping to a small diesel which will cost more to buy, what else is there I can do?

Get a Smart with it's 0.7?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I drive a 1.0ltr petrol car that cost £800, short of swapping to a small diesel which will cost more to buy, what else is there I can do?

You could do quite a few things if it hasn't already got them/had them done.

 

[Geezertronic]

I drive a 1.0ltr petrol car that cost £800, short of swapping to a small diesel which will cost more to buy, what else is there I can do?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5

 

[royaloak]

You can sod RIGHT off geezer
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Get a Smart with it's 0.7? .

Didnt realise you could buy these for £800!

You could do quite a few things if it hasn't already got them/had them done.

Such as?
The car is regularly serviced, the tyres are keep to the right pressures, I drive at a sensible cruising speed (55-60), dont use the car for anything other than getting to/from work.

 

[Dennis]

The car is regularly serviced, the tyres are keep to the right pressures, I drive at a sensible cruising speed (55-60), dont use the car for anything other than getting to/from work.

If it really is only used for the stated purpose, lose some weight. Get rid of all the seats (except the drivers!), carpets, useless trim, leave the fuel tank nearly empty, get rid of sound insulation etc etc

 

[royaloak]

A tank of fuel lasts 4 days, I like to listen to (and hear) the radio and want to be reasonably comfortable so NO IT AINT HAPPENING ( where is the poking out tongue smillie when you want one )

 

[yorkie]

I live 50 miles away from work, start around 0500 all week and I aint bloody pedaling THAT!

Roughly what proportion of the world's population can this planet sustain doing that commute do you reckon? That's a genuine question. Whatever the answer is, a growing proportion of people in places like China will want that standard of living. Even if a small percentage of 1 billion people do 50 mile commutes, that's a lot of resources consumed (not just petrol).

 

[90019]

Didnt realise you could buy these for £800!

I'm sure you could find one in a scrapyard. Possibly not road legal, and maybe a bit crushed, but I'm sure you could work around that.

Actually, I reckon you probably could find one for £800, but it'd likely be one of the very first ones, so LHD and high milage though.

Such as?
The car is regularly serviced, the tyres are keep to the right pressures, I drive at a sensible cruising speed (55-60), dont use the car for anything other than getting to/from work.

If you've got steel wheels, getting some cheap alloys, or taking anything out of the car that you don't need with you (I don't mean parts of the car, although you could do that if you wanted ), next time you replace the tyres, see if you can get lower rolling resistance ones too, as they can help. Switching the engine off when stationary as well (I tend to switch it off when I'm stopped at most traffic lights), accelerating through the gears quickly to get up to speed and into the highest gear you can (Obviously within reason, you don't want to try and do 10mph in 5th ).
There'll be plenty more that I've missed out too.

 

[starrymarkb]

Short shifting is a good one, as well as is letting the car slow naturally where possible rather then throttle to last min then brake.

 

[90019]

The most economical way to drive is to accelerate as quickly as you can, and get to the speed you need as soon as possible, because it means that you spend less time at a higher rpm, and will use less fuel overall.
Obviously, you don't want to be accelerating too quickly, because that's just stupid, but there'll be a balance where you can use less fuel without driving dangerously.

 

[royaloak]

Do all that, 5th gear by 30mph, very light throttle, easing the speed up at the bottom of the hill to help it up a bit, probably why I get 46mpg out of it, still miss my corsa 1.5 diesel though, 62 real world mpg and comfy to boot, bloody car thieves

 

[90019]

Short shifting is a good one, as well as is letting the car slow naturally where possible rather then throttle to last min then brake.

Short shifting is different, and is less efficient, because you end up having to use more fuel to accelerate.

 

[royaloak]

only if you use a lot of throttle, as with most things its a balance between getting into the higher gear quickly and under-revving and using a bootful of throttle or over-revving, if you use the middle ground it gives the best balance between acceleration and economy.

 

[devon_metro]

Personally I find 1.0L quite difficult to achieve decent mpg, i usually average about 30/40 mainly due to the fact that you need a bootful to move anywhere, even if it gets into 5th about 30mph!

Best i've got out of it is 60mpg however it was at night so traffic was light and bizarrely it wasn't all downhill. Not sure what I did

A 2.0L Sport Diesel BMW M3 however manages far better MPG with quite a considerable bit more "boot"

 

[Metroland]

The price of petrol is just a small part of the cost of running a car, and the real cost of motoring has actually been falling. It's train and bus tickets that rise year on year!

 

[Nick W]

I'll resist the urge to rebut some of the ridiculous claims earlier on in the topic, but will say that one of the only good things John Major's Government gave us was the fuel duty escalator.

For reasons of the need to reduce dependency on oil and price against long-distance community, shame on Labour for eradicating the escalator and shame on them now for delaying the rise of the fuel duty. At least we've seen a move in the right direction.

Regarding saving fuel in petrol-engined cars, you want to be in the highest gear that won't cause the engine to struggle and you want to either be on full throttle or no throttle (engine effectively off)! This may come as a shock, but when you consider that throttling is equivalent to breathing in with your hand over your mouth you should see why.

 

[flymo]

Regarding saving fuel in petrol-engined cars [...] and you want to either be on full throttle or no throttle (engine effectively off)!

Are you serious? I thought April fools day was next week...

Did you learn to drive in Hong Kong as that is how so many people drive over here?

Maintaining a steady speed will always be more fuel efficient that jumping up and down on the accelerator.

 

[90019]

Maintaining a steady speed will always be more fuel efficient that jumping up and down on the accelerator.

Oddly enough, he's pretty much spot on. What seems to seem logical when driving economically isn't always right.

As an example, if you're on a motorway, you'd think that having the cruise control on in your car (If it has it obviously) would be more efficient than doing it yourself because it keeps it at a steady speed, but it's been shown that it's actually the opposite, even though this seems illogical.