How to reduce Gas consumption? (Jacksonville: appliances, houses, purchases)

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by Ryde41

I would like to see the bus system go to the Town Center, pick up people, drive east on JTB straight to the beach, Jax. beach drop-off and PVB club drop off, and back to the Town Center, every two hours. Call it the "Weekend Beach Shuttle". They have one now but you have to ride to Regency- too far. This would help the town people get to the beach, and the beach people can ride to the Town Center. Start out with free coupons to show people how easy it is.

exactly who would be the target of this service? the PVB club is private so nobody is going there, and the rest of the beaches in PVB are quite unsuitable for masses of visitors, no lifeguards, no services like rest rooms or places to buy a snack or drink. A better idea would be a bus to JAX beach, a place that is set up for many visitors. isn't there already buses to JAX beach? so that kind of service already in place and if there is already service in place like you want why isn't being used?
Also many of the people in PVB really couldn't care less about going to the SJTC, especially via public transport.
It's only a good idea if it's viable and IMHO a service like this doesn't appear to be viable

[Ryde41]

You're always throwing wrenches at people's good ideas.. lol.

[agreatlife]

Poor vdecapio, he has to buy his own gas.

[Huckleberry3911948]

Originally Posted by Fnix

Dont use the A/C at all

i won't.

pdclipart.com
free clipart

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by Ryde41

You're always throwing wrenches at people's good ideas.. lol.

there's nothing wrong with dreaming, if there were no dreamers many great things would never have happened, but you also have to factor reality into the process. Keep on dreaming, something might click

[KerryB]

All I know is that we are totally dependent on our cars to do anything here, as I'm sure almost the rest of the JAX population is. I've looked into the buses, etc & it just ain't a viable option. I'm not gonna bi**h & complain about that fact like some people, I knew it before we moved here. What I didn't know was that gas prices were gonna keep rising above $4 a gallon with no end in sight. For a normal middle class family, thats getting into the realm of debilitating in a city like this.

Not knocking the city, it is what it is. But its causing us to really rethink our priorities. So, if it means moving to another more condensed city in a smaller home/apt where we aren't forced to be tethered to our cars at all times, we may have to. Sucks, cause we like it here for the most part, but being trapped in your home all the time for something I have no control over is no fun. I'd rather live in a smaller place & have a life than a big house in the suburbs chained to it.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by KerryB

All I know is that we are totally dependent on our cars to do anything here, as I'm sure almost the rest of the JAX population is. I've looked into the buses, etc & it just ain't a viable option. I'm not gonna bi**h & complain about that fact like some people, I knew it before we moved here. What I didn't know was that gas prices were gonna keep rising above $4 a gallon with no end in sight. For a normal middle class family, thats getting into the realm of debilitating in a city like this.

Not knocking the city, it is what it is. But its causing us to really rethink our priorities. So, if it means moving to another more condensed city in a smaller home/apt where we aren't forced to be tethered to our cars at all times, we may have to. Sucks, cause we like it here for the most part, but being trapped in your home all the time for something I have no control over is no fun. I'd rather live in a smaller place & have a life than a big house in the suburbs chained to it.

And $4/gal is only the beginning. What will people do when gas is $5/gal or $6/gal? For people who live in the further reaches, this can become a real problem.

When people curtail their driving, it hurts the businesses they used to patronize. Businesses close, options dry up, you have to drive even further now to get what you need.

Chicago, NYC and a few others aside, most cities are in the same boat as Jacksonville. Most American cities are car-centric, so we're not alone.

Like most cities though, there are options, and one of those options is to live closer in to the city center - to live in the more dense areas. Before considering moving to another city entirely, people can look to move to a more dense area of their own city, in this case, Jacksonville.

Instead of a 20 mile commute each way, you can have a 5 mile commute. Instead of a 20 minute drive to the grocery store, you can have a 5 minute drive (or maybe even a walk or a bike ride if you're lucky).

Your house might be smaller, the homes close in to the city often cost more per square foot because they are a limited commodity. But it's an option.

And an option is just that, no one says you have to do anything - drive what you want, live where you want - but know that there are solutions that might end up being life-changing in a good way .

[cricketfan]

We complain about the Jacksonville sprawl and about our dependency on cars but we forget that there are a whole lot of cities that are in the same boat. No significant mass transit systems to help out. LA is one of those cities but I don't believe you're gonna witness mass exodus out of LA anytime soon because gas happens to be 5 bucks a gallon.

How many of us remember when gas went to $1 a gallon back in the 70s? We were b***hing and moaning then too like the end of the world and then we all settled down and continued to drive our guzzlers and paid whatever it cost to run them. My point is it is no different today. We are all going to mentally adjust, make a few token changes in our lifestyle and $5 or even $6 a gallon will soon be normal and par for the course again. Take my word.

[slnash]

[quote=toops;4087516]Your Honda Civic only has an 8 gallon tank? What year is it? I find that hard to believe; my '96 that I had years ago had at least 12.

I ran out of gas once . . . pushed it into a station and was only able to put 8.5 gallons in it. The car is older than dirt.

[KerryB]

Originally Posted by riveree

And $4/gal is only the beginning. What will people do when gas is $5/gal or $6/gal? For people who live in the further reaches, this can become a real problem.

When people curtail their driving, it hurts the businesses they used to patronize. Businesses close, options dry up, you have to drive even further now to get what you need.

Chicago, NYC and a few others aside, most cities are in the same boat as Jacksonville. Most American cities are car-centric, so we're not alone.

Like most cities though, there are options, and one of those options is to live closer in to the city center - to live in the more dense areas. Before considering moving to another city entirely, people can look to move to a more dense area of their own city, in this case, Jacksonville.

Instead of a 20 mile commute each way, you can have a 5 mile commute. Instead of a 20 minute drive to the grocery store, you can have a 5 minute drive (or maybe even a walk or a bike ride if you're lucky).

Your house might be smaller, the homes close in to the city often cost more per square foot because they are a limited commodity. But it's an option.

And an option is just that, no one says you have to do anything - drive what you want, live where you want - but know that there are solutions that might end up being life-changing in a good way .

I completely agree with everything you're saying. The option of moving in closer to the city isn't an option for us though because my wife works outta town, kinda in the middle of nowhere which isn't exactly a livable place, IMO. So it would actually be worse if we moved in closer. And the kind of job she has isn't available on a whim just anywhere, so she couldn't just transfer to somewhere in Jax, it doesn't work that way. She has to go where there is a very specific opening. Its what brought us here.

So, I've really weighed all the options & it seems like relocating may be our best option. Not 100% sure yet though. Things could change. We just dont wanna be crippled when those gas prices climb even higher. It'll seriously eat into our income in a major way, especially with the commuting.

I can tell you one thing though, public transportation & a more condensed city will be high priorities for us. I know not a lot of cities are like that, but there are more than just NYC, Chicago, DC, etc.