Three Simple Ways Chicagoans Can Avoid Rising Gas Prices
CHICAGO (March 11, 2011) – Gas prices are rising again and putting the squeeze on families that may already be struggling with unemployment and making their mortgage or rent payments. The Wall Street Journal had a good article last week about what the current situation means for people on the ground in a suburb of Miami, Florida. Here in Chicago, gas prices have already reached $4/gallon in at least one location, and the national average for a gallon of gas has jumped 33 cents in the past two weeks.
What can Chicagoans do to protect themselves from getting hit hard by rising gas prices? The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) has a few suggestions:
1—Park your car and take public transportation using pre-tax transit benefits. Public transit is almost always more economical than driving, and transit obviously helps you avoid the impacts of rising gas prices altogether. The American Public Transportation Association estimates that Chicago commuters can save nearly $12,000 a year taking transit, assuming gas costs $3.47/gallon. Pre-tax transit benefits make transit even more affordable than it already is. The program allows people to purchase transit fares before their income is taxed, reducing the overall cut Uncle Sam takes from their paycheck.
The program is run through employers, so if your company doesn’t already offer a pre-tax transit benefit program, send your boss or HR person to this site: http://lesstaxingcommute.com. For a short time, Cook County employers can receive up to $1,700 by enrolling employees in the program.
2—Sign up for I-GO Car Sharing. Americans spend an annual average of $7,319 to own, operate, and maintain their cars, according to AAA. A typical I-GO member spends only about $2,520 per year on transportation. I-GO has more than 200 cars in 35 neighborhoods throughout the city and four suburbs that can get you where you need to go without worrying about gas prices. Members pay for cars by the hour (about $8.50), and gas is included in the hourly fee (as is insurance), so no need to worry about its price. Our cars are gas sippers, and later this year we’ll add 30+ electric cars to our fleet that don’t use gasoline at all. We have partnered with the city to offer joint CTA/I-GO smart cards to make transit and car sharing more convenient; one card does it all.
3—Moving soon? Use Abogo to find a new neighborhood with low transportation costs. Location matters when it comes to how much a household pays to get around. CNT’s Abogo – a mash up of “abode” and “to go”— calculates the average transportation costs of a given location. Type in an address and Abogo will reveal the area’s average cost of auto ownership, auto usage and transit use. A car-dependent, high transportation cost neighborhood will leave you vulnerable as gas prices continue to rise. A transit-rich, walkable neighborhood will have a lower average monthly cost and keep it that way as gas prices creep upward because residents don’t need cars to get to work and everywhere else.
To speak with CNT experts about ways to avoid the pain of rising gas prices, contact Emily Robinson at erobinson@cnt.org or 773.269.4043.
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