People tweaking habits as gas prices rise

By Bryan Gentry

Published: June 16, 2008

A $12.50 bus pass good for 10 rides is helping Teresa Gunter save a half tank of gas — about $28 worth — every week.

To handle increased gas prices, Gunter started riding a Greater Lynchburg Transit Company bus to work at Lynchburg College in May.

Taking the bus from Wyndhurst to the college and back every day adds about 10 minutes to her commute, she said.

She’s also taking advantage of the college’s compressed workweek, working longer hours and fewer days.

“I’m saving money anyway because I’m only working three days a week,” Gunter said. “Using GLTC is another few dollars in my pocket.”

She’s one of many in the Lynchburg area tweaking daily habits to cut their gas bill, as prices in the region flirt with the $4-per-gallon mark.

That spike — which the U.S. Energy Department doesn’t see coming down anytime soon — has sparked all sorts of adjustments. What are others doing?

Mopeds on the move

Walter Holt of Bedford County said he’s trying to save gas by walking more.

But he’s also watching another trend — more people are riding mopeds, which get 80 to 100 miles per gallon.

“They’re just catching on for young people driving to work or school,” said Holt, a retiree who started selling mail-order mopeds last fall.

“Four-dollar-per-gallon gas puts driving a car out of reach for young people, especially when they’re making minimum wage,” he said.

Holt said he’s only sold a few, but he expects more will sell as gas prices stay high.

Joel Johnson, owner and operator of Honda-Suzuki of Lynchburg on 12th Street, was surprised with a recent spike in moped and scooter sales.

“Just a few months ago I looked at all the scooters in the basement and wondered, what am I going to do with all of these?” Johnson said.

Now the popular Honda Metropolitan scooters are sold out, and Johnson’s having trouble getting more.

“Our manufacturers didn’t necessarily see this coming with the gas prices,” he said.

Bill Savino, manager for motorcycle press at American Honda, said the company has seen a 35 percent increase in scooter sales. “I’m guessing that that growth rate would be even higher if we had more,” he said.

Nonprofits stay on road

Some of the region’s nonprofit agencies are eyeing the cost of gas with concern.

Meals on Wheels of Lynchburg sends volunteers out every weekday to drive their own vehicles, paying for their own gas, to deliver food to elderly clients.

Executive Director Lisa Schafer said some of those delivery routes are 35 miles.

Some volunteers have complained about gas prices, she said, but none of them have stopped volunteering.

Volunteer Theresa Guthrie said she can’t stop working with Meals on Wheels because it’s her mission in life.

Instead, she helps cover gas for her deliveries by using money she usually would have donated to her church’s mission fund.

Meals on Wheels is one of her church’s mission activities, she said.

Also, on weeks that she is delivering meals, she saves all her weekly trips — such as to the grocery store or drug store — for the day of her route.

The Central Virginia Area Agency on Aging is trying something similar with its transportation program, which helps qualified people over 60 with rides that are usually free.

Ken Young, director of transportation, said, “We try to combine trips whenever we can. For example, if there are four people going to the same doctor’s office or the same destination, we try to group them together.”

He said CVAAA budgeted for gas costs increases last year, so the impact has been limited.

“We also have worked out arrangements with several of our fuel suppliers to get small discounts on gas, but that’s only a drop in the bucket,” Young said.

Public Works feeling pinch

Managing gas costs is tricky for Lynchburg city’s Public Works department, where a $1-per-gallon increase costs a quarter-million dollars.

David Owen, public works director, said they use about 250,000 gallons of fuel per year collecting garbage, repairing streets and maintaining parks.

Much of that fuel is diesel, which is up about $1.90 from a year ago.

Owen said the city doesn’t want to reduce its basic services, such as garbage pickup.

Instead, they’re trying to save gas by reducing idling time. Diesel engines have to idle for a few minutes on startup, but Owen has asked employees to limit that time and also to cut off their vehicles at their destination.

Members of the department are also carpooling to meetings more, he said.

“We believe we’ve cut back a little bit on the use of fuel, but we’re still committed to providing the basic services to the citizens,” Owen said.

“Truthfully, looking at next fiscal year, if fuel costs stay up, without adjustments to the budget we’d have to look at reducing some services. But hopefully that will not occur.”