The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Is it time to stop buying oil guzzlers & pick up bicycles?

    Synopsis

    It might be a bright idea to pick up that bicycle before the govt decides to pass some of the oil burden down to the consumers. Rising food prices


    The sky-high fuel prices have achieved what the 'Earth Hour' could not. The later may have been reduced to a hour-long euphoria, but the fuel prices are reducing global warming. They are actually forcing people to cut the energy consumption on a sustainable basis.

    Let���s begin with the US. With the cost of fuel and power for public transportation increasing three fold in four years, meeting the greater demand for mass transit is proving difficult for the US administration.

    Interestingly, this has made the US people turn towards the most environment-friendly transport - bicycle.

    Denting the lifestyles in a country where the car has long reigned as king, commuters across the US are now dusting off their old bicycles - or buying new ones - to cope with rising gas prices, that are nearing $4-a-gallon.



    About 18 million bicycles have been sold annually in the US over the past few years, accounting for about $6 billion in annual sales, and bicycle shops across the country have reported stronger sales this year. More people are bringing in bikes that have been lying idle for years. It is seeing a spike in the number of tune ups and repairs, which had been declining for the past 15 years.

    Not surprising that gasoline consumption figures in the US went down in the last two quarters, a decline not seen since 1991.

    With the crude prices touching a high of $126 a barrel this month, people in the United State ��� the world's largest polluting country ��� have started consuming less fuel.

    The figures released by the US Federal Highway Administration show the first drop in fuel usage in almost 30 years, with mileage covered by Americans in January 2008 fell 1.7 per cent compared to the same period of 2007.

    A recent study among members of the American Automobile Association (AAA) in Chicago showed that 76 per cent of them try to reduce the number of shopping trips and 24 per cent have modified or outright canceled their vacation plans.

    Mass transit systems around the US are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats were once easy to come by as more commuters are abandoning their cars and taking the train or bus instead.

    While cities with long-established public transit systems, like New York and Boston, have seen increases in ridership of 5 per cent or more so far this year, many metropolitan areas in the South and West where the driving culture is strongest and bus and rail lines are more limited, have seen 10 to 15 per cent or more surges over last year.

    According to the US Energy Information Administration, in the three first months of 2008, consumption dropped 0.6 per cent. And it is expected to fall another 0.4 per cent this summer compared to the summer of 2007. High gasoline prices are motivating drivers to conserve by driving less and purchasing more fuel-efficient transportation.

    Not only the US, people in other countries, especially where fuel prices are de-regulated, are facing the oily music.

    Even Jordan increases the fuel price for the eighth time in two years, while Indonesia sees widespread protests against hike in fuel prices.

    But with India the story is a little different. The huge oil subsidies are still preventing Indians from feeling the heat of the boiling crude.

    With the Indian basket of crude staying above $100 a barrel mark, the Petroleum Ministry has projected a revenue loss of about Rs 1,50,000 crore on fuel sales this fiscal.

    And the losses incurred by state-run firms on fuel sales further widened to over Rs 500 crore per day, with the price basket of crude oil that country imports crossing an all-time high of $110 a barrel.

    So, it might be a bright idea to pick up that bicycle before the government decides to pass some of the oil burden down to the consumers - not just to save the oil retailing firms, but for a greater cause of saving the earth from global warming!


    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in