gas prices ...

[Erik]

Yeah, public transit is cool. I'm 20 and have no real thoughts of getting my own car yet. Guess that would seem kinda unusual in the states.

[Conspicuously Absent]

yea, if transit wasn't so shitty here i'd love to not have to get myself a car, saves me money. In the states it's part of the culture to own a car (why is beyond me) and use it all the time, and because of that, public transit is poor or non-existent.

[Furious B]

Originally Posted by Iconoclastic Tendencies

yeah, but european towns also have a transit system that doesn't lick the ass of dirty hobos. No matter how bad you think it may or may not be... it makes our transit cry out in suckage.

here, we are the transit system? why? because over here, everybody(most) has their own car and drives everywhere because they are fat and lazy and eat at fagdonald's, and thinks that getting the fucking diet coke will stop them from getting diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or harpooned.

So true. I know MPLS is building one or is in the works or something, but hell if it comes out my way. There is a bus route, but due to time conflicts, I can't use it. And the whole biking thing is cool, but the weather changes so consistently (in extreme ways) here that it's damn near impossible for me to rely on a bike.

Prices are about $2.29-$2.49 a gallon here.

[Russell]

Originally Posted by Erik

hey guys im from sweden we pay about $5.80 per us gallon at the moment

$6.40 here now in most areas. Prices just jumped again

[lurch70]

Originally Posted by Russell

$6.40 here now in most areas. Prices just jumped again

holy cow ... that would be about $83 to fill up my car there ... how can people afford to drive?

[Russell]

Personally I don't wherever possible. Apart from driving up to Scotland for my uni course recently I rarely have to use the car - in London there's absolutely no point in having a car, and down outside Cambridge where I live I normally just get my family to drive me to the train station whenever I need to go somewhere. Equally expensive, but a lot quicker...

Also don't forget the price jumps you're seeing are purely down to the price of crude oil. Here those are magnified because we pay so much tax, when the original price of oil increases, that is magnified by the amount of tax, so a small increase in the price of crude can lead to a sizeable increase in the price we pay.

[lurch70]

still the last time I was in London ... there was a lot of traffic and alot of cars on the road ... so people must be still driving alot.

here it's the taxes that get you as well

[Russell]

Yeah, a lot of people do still drive, which is a shame. I just find it stressful, it blocks up the road for busses when there aren't bus lanes, and it's often slower than walking. The congestion charge seems to have had some effect to reduce central london traffic, but it's more of a money spinner than a true attempt to stop congestion, I'm tempted to believe.

[NAD is still special.]

Originally Posted by Erik

HOWEVER as I've said before, there is no way to get anything less than 95 octane. i dont know wtf is up with american cars but everything runs on 95-98 here

yeah, it's environmental crap. i'm not really sure how lower octane creates lower emissions but the epa is pretty convinced. also they hate diesel fuel, you know, that über efficient stuff? morans.

Originally Posted by Iconoclastic Tendencies

yea, if transit wasn't so shitty here i'd love to not have to get myself a car, saves me money. In the states it's part of the culture to own a car (why is beyond me) and use it all the time, and because of that, public transit is poor or non-existent.

personally, i love cars and i love to drive. but if we had a public transportation system down here that worked, i'd certainly use it. the problem with california (primarily southern because it's overcrowded) is that we build outward instead of upward. everyone has their own chunk of land and single or two story house. apartments are pretty rare except outside the crowded and poor parts of los angeles. even my apartment complex, we have 167 units i think, but it's all 2 story buildings. up until several years ago it was okay, you could live in los angeles and be stuffy, get a beach house in san diego or orange county, or move out to the fucking boonies in riverside where i am. there are no boonies anymore, unless you go out toward arizona, and even shit areas like indio and blythe are becoming heavily populated. it's like that one john cougar melonhead song, little pink houses. that dork was so god damn right.

was that about gas? sorry.

[lurch70]

the problem with california (primarily southern because it's overcrowded) is that we build outward instead of upward.

i'd rather have that .... Manhattan is out of control too (building upward) ... NYC Subway system is pure shit and is always problematic. I mean, we can send a man in space, but cannot figure out how to air condition a subway station?

[NAD is still special.]

dude i was in absolute awe at the subway structure in nyc, i wish we had something like that out here.

and you may want outward instead of upward, but only because it'd be a change of pace for you. it takes me 15 minutes to drive 4 miles to the local trader joe's, i'd much rather be able to walk down 20 floors and across the street to do my shopping.