Comments on: Feeling the Pain

By: Steve Potter

Steve Potter — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:55:09 +0000

My wife and I live in Lakeville, but I work during the week in Boston. That weekly round trip burns 20 gallons of premium, or about $85 — and I make it a point to always purchase my fuel in Massachusetts, topping up in Great Barrington before I cross into Connecticut on my way home, and not purchasing gas again until I’m on my way back to Boston.

The bigger issue I’ve discovered since moving to the Northwest Corner four years ago is that the annual mileage for my wife’s car went up by about 40% from when we lived in suburban NJ. In a rural area sources of goods and services are typically farther away than in an urban or suburban area and that difference in annual fuel cost becomes quite noticeable as gas prices hit stratospheric levels.

It seems unlikely that energy costs, and most particularly motor fuel prices, are going to fall significantly in the foreseeable future. And while most drivers will choose vehicles with better fuel mileage when we trade, it’s typically a false economy to trade in a reasonably new vehicle with mediocre or even poor fuel mileage to get a brand new one with great mileage. That means a lot of us will be dealing for a few years with cars that eat us our of house and home and adopting the strategies described above to reduce the number of miles we drive each week and each year. At least we’ll all be reducing our carbon footprints.

– Steve Potter

By: Doug Richardson

Doug Richardson — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:09:23 +0000

I’m completely out of kidneys to sell, so for the first time in 20 years of business, I have to factor the cost of gas for my truck into my estimates.

Think it’s ugly out there now? Wait ’til the fall when the heating season begins…Economic Armageddon.

By: Barb

Barb — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:00:14 +0000

As of Saturday, gas at Cumberland Farms in Great Barrington was $4.01; in Millerton it is $4.19.
My husband uses diesel for his work truck and that is almost $5.00 per gallon.
We received a delivery of fuel oil from Lindell’s two weeks ago and that was $4.31 a gallon.
I don’t see any end in sight and it scares the be-jeezus out of me!
In November I traded in my SUV for a smaller, more compact car to get better gas mileage. I sure do miss the comfort but not the gas bill.

By: Jim Britt

Jim Britt — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:51:10 +0000

I’ve been shopping up in Mass for years, and justifying the trip by filling the tank when I’m there. Also, they don’t tax some items there that are hit in Connecticut, like clothing. And of course you can buy beer there on Sundays and holidays So I try to plan things even further by hitting the dollar store and the grocery store in the Kmart plaza. Domaney’s of course on the way back. Throw in Guidos and just can’t match the selection shopping at any stores in the Northwest Corner.
Janet if you had gone all the way to G. Barrington and filled your tank at either Cumberland Farms or the Citgo across the street (where they handle the chore for you) you likely would have saved upwards of another 5-10 cents a gallon. Unless that has changed. In the recent past, it’s been about 20-25 cents cheaper than Lakeville. At about 36 miles RT, it’s 1.4 gals in my truck, so I need to save about $6 on the fillup. At 20 cents/gal savings, I think I’ve got to buy 30 gallons! I’ll need an external fuel tank in the back of the truck. No longer worth it.
I’ve cut back on my Massachusetts shopping trips since gas has skyrocketed. (why DO they call it Taxachusetts?) I now make a point of stopping at grocery stores whenever I pass to pick up a couple things, so as not to make any special trips and burn up the precious fuel. But I’m only buying for one person, so that may matter to some shoppers.
Terry, I’d be interested in what changes have been made at Lakeville Taxi since I left there several years ago. It was $85 each way to Bradley and $175 to Manhattan or the NYC airports. Must have really gone up since then.
Much of my family is in Poughkeepsie, which now costs about $15/RT so that means buying groceries, etc. along the way … but now my mother and stepfather insist on throwing me cash to cover travel expenses, bless them. Sooner or later, I’ll come out ahead!
JB

By: Janet Manko

Janet Manko — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 18:01:50 +0000

Gas was $4.08 at Gulotta’s in Sheffield, MA, Sunday, $4.25 just over the state line in North Canaan, CT. Just about makes it worth it to drive only to buy gas, much less adding in other chores like food shopping, etc.

By: Terrence McCarthy

Terrence McCarthy — Sat, 31 May 2008 16:22:27 +0000

I checked the local pumps today. It did go up ten cents since yesterday. Down 8 cents yesterday. Up ten today. That’s what’s happening today in R.I.

By: Tim Abbott

Tim Abbott — Sat, 31 May 2008 14:24:59 +0000

My daily commute is 19 miles each way between Canaan village and Cornwall Bridge. Much as I would like to be able to bike it, that narrow, twisting stretch along the Housatonic and the weight of a laptop make this a poor option. I telecommute when possible. Canaan is an unusual town for our region, with nearly half of those residents with jobs also working here.

By: Terrence McCarthy

Terrence McCarthy — Sat, 31 May 2008 12:44:04 +0000

The price of gas went down 8 cents at the pumps we frequent here on the coast of R.I. I have no idea why; it’s the first lowering we’ve seen since we don’t know when. I haven’t checked yet today. Probably went up 10 cents. we’ve never seen anything like this. Codger like me can recall paying 33 cents a gallon when I had my bright yellow brand new 72 VW bug. We also have an RV we planned to travel in a lot. It’s sitting in our yard. We may drive it somewhere in August. Somewhere close.

By: Geoff Brown

Geoff Brown — Sat, 31 May 2008 00:37:03 +0000

As a retiree who takes advantage of Connecticut’s tuition exemption for veterans, I’m a little sad to say that I’m deferring registering for the Fall term at Northwestern Connecticut Community College until I see how gas prices are trending.

The Human Biology course I took there last semester was the best — and most challenging — course I have taken in the course of many years of post-secondary education that I have undertaken. I’d like to continue with the same inspiring instructor to take a full year of Anatomy and Physiology.

However, at this stage of my life, this is not a question of career preparation; it is really one of self-indulgence. Two trips a week over to Winsted? Well, that’s a fair amount of gasoline over the course of a year.

I’ll end up making my decision in August.