Transportation in Difficult Times

What are we going to do about these travel costs?! Notice I didn’t say, “what are we going to do about these gas prices!” As much as I would love to see the skyrocketing price of gasoline, tumble delightfully below $2.00 per gallon, realistically I do not think that will happen! So, that leaves us individually to decide how we are going to curtail, eliminate, or otherwise modify our transportation choices. So first of all, how much time do we each possess, and that we are willing to part with to expend in this pursuit? And what kind of commitments to our time have we already made that are unalterable? What kind of budget does each of us currently have, just to get from point “A” to point “B”? What do we think, when we see one of those large SUV’s going down the road; it being obvious that the vehicle has never been “off” the road since it was manufactured? And it gets 8 miles per gallon! I don’t feel driving such a leviathan of a vehicle is usually a wise personal choice in most cases, even though the person may be able to afford it. (they are no more seen in the HOV lanes than a two-seated sports car is!) This type of misuse of our resources affects all of us everyday; pricing, supply and demand, and our level of reserves to draw from. Is there 8 people in the family of these mega-vehicle owners? This type of variable allows for some flexibility, especially when such an orchestra of children may each have their own extracurricular activities in individual locations, all spaced miles away from each other. And don’t forget the gear that goes with these activities! My son was on a Hockey team for a few years.

The bag alone dwarfs any style of gym bag that you and I may have for our local health club! And in this case, the stick and the protective clothing, and this accessory and that backup item of necessity, weighs 60 pounds – and takes up the seats of 3 children! So there, see! I am not oblivious to the need for a behemoth of a vehicle here and there, now and then! Yet, what is the percentage of these that are on the road, containing the elements in the above not-so-exaggerated example? I hear of young girls swooning over the prospect of “humming” down the road in a $70,000 H3, only to pursue looking “hot” in front of the young boys! How much of our petroleum reserve does a few thousand of these examples eat away from our supply every day? Anyway, ranting and raving about the habits of others will not be a solution to our individual transportation dilemma. Most of us do not enjoy even spending $40 for a tank of gasoline, even it we get over 30 miles per gallon. So, the ultimate factor in our quest for savings in our travel endeavor, boils down to our time available each day for alternatives. You know that considerable extra time we have available; between work and / or school, religious attendance, sporting activities, trips to various markets, etc. etc. etc!

Who am I kidding?! Otherwise, I do enjoy a brisk 3 mile walk, or a 10 mile bicycle ride, or even an extra transfer or two by our local busing system! I so wish we had the personal circumstances that we could take advantage of the above modes of transportation, at least on a more frequent basis. We would save our resources, cut our costs immensely, add some physical fitness to our schedule – by necessity, and absorb a lot more of our surroundings. We may even becoming more caring with one another, cognizant of immediate challenges we each are daily facing, and ever alert to changing conditions, in turn waking up our adaptivity skills. So as it is with other challenges that confront us on a daily basis, we can usually solve complicated equations like this one, mentally, it’s tangibly putting them into practice that – in looking around – has not had successful fruition!