Fuel costs are expensive, there is no getting around that fact, and ridesharing is a great way to share travel costs and reduce carbon emissions, but did you know that there are also other ways of reducing fuel costs?
- Regular grade fuel is just as good as the premium priced stuff. At most petrol stations you will have a choice of at least two different grades of petrol. The higher grade fuel will boast superior performance and other additional benefits for your car, but to be honest, unless you are racing your car around a formula one circuit at the weekends, the lower grade fuel will do exactly the same job as the higher grade. It will also be considerably cheaper.
- Take it easy. We have all been there. You woke up late, the dog needs to pee, the kids need to be taken to school, and you have that 9am meeting. In situations like these it is natural to get stressed and drive faster and more aggressively than usual. Unfortunately, apart from being dangerous, aggressive and fast driving uses lots more fuel. Fuel economy rates are worst during acceleration from a standstill and at any speed above 55 mph. If you normally drive 65mph on your daily commute, reducing your speed to 55mph will reduce fuel costs by 13%. If you normally drive 75mph, the same reduction will reduce fuel costs by 25% – that’s a quarter tank of petrol for the same distance covered! And a simple phone call can postpone the 9am meeting by 15 minutes giving you time to take it easy (when do meetings ever start on time anyway).
- Air conditioning. Many modern cars are installed with air conditioning, which is great on a really hot day, but we tend to use it when it’s not really necessary. Many of us work in offices that are air conditioned, and our bodies get used to the particular ambient temperature regulated by those air conditioning systems. Naturally, we try to maintain those conditions on our cars, but is it always necessary? Using the air conditioning in your car increases fuel costs from 13% to 21%. Unfortunately, opening the window affects the aerodynamics of the car, which in turn affects fuel consumption, so maybe just turn the blower up or take off that jumper.
- Idling – and no, this isn’t something your secondary school maths teacher would have complained of! Today’s vehicles are designed to warm up fast and many have an auto-stop feature that shuts off the engine when in neutral. Sitting in traffic with the engine idling is zero miles per gallon. If you have the auto-stop feature, learn to use it, or simply switch off the engine if the traffic looks like it is not moving.
- Maintain your car. Regular maintenance is another great way to keep your car running efficiently. You don’t have to be a mechanic to do this. Simple things like making sure your tyres are inflated to the right pressure and your air filter is clean can make a huge difference in fuel consumption. And remember, if you are regularly ridesharing with a full car, your tyre pressures will need to be altered accordingly. You can find a guide to suitable tyre pressures for different loads in your car’s owner’s manual. In California, it has been estimated that if everyone properly inflated and aligned their tires, there would be a saving of 300 million gallons of petrol per year!
- Choose a fuel efficient vehicle. We normally choose the cars we drive based heavily on price. But if you in the market for a new car, it is worth adding up the potential savings in fuel costs that a more fuel-efficient car would bring. The initial cost may be more, but if you are going to drive that car every day, the fuel costs are soon going to add up.
- Inertia. This is my own method for saving fuel and it is particularly relevant in hilly places like Kinsale and Cork. I’ve monitored my fuel consumption with the help of the on-board computer that provides various statistics. The key statistic is average fuel consumption in litres per 100km. You can reduce your fuel consumption by quite a lot by letting gravity act on your car as it goes down a hill. You will have to use relatively more fuel to get up a hill as your car fights against gravity, but on the other side you can let gravity pay you back. The temptation is to put the clutch in or put the car in neutral and free-wheel, but if you keep the car in gear as gravity pulls you down the hill, you will actually use less fuel. Every car is different, but try it on your next drive and see what works best for you.
If you put these fuel saving tips into action, and combine them with the cash earned from ride-sharing, you’ll be on your way to a tidy profit from your regular commute in no time!
Information source: Consumer Energy Center
Image credit: Chris Wild HQ