LIL' BUDDY'S BLOG: Record-High Chicago Gas Prices = Fewer Dogs Driving with their Heads Out the Window!
THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!
Here's a picture of me during more affordable times - when Premium Gas in Chicago cost about $2.25/gallon! That seems like about a million years ago, doesn't it?
Today, in Chicago, according to the AAA Motor Club, the average price for REGULAR gasoline - $3.745 per gallon. Nationally, the average price went up 2 cents yesterday, to a comparably-reasonable $3.53 per gallon. Here in the City of Chicago, you can't find premium gasoline for less than $4.05/gallon, diesel for less than $4.50!
Perhaps a few of you Ancient Humans can remember when a WHOLE TANK OF GAS cost about $4.50!
WOOF! What a rip!
You know, my Human Daddy, Dean, Mommy Sue, and a few from the family were having dinner the other night. Dean's cousin Bob conjectured that if the price of gas dropped dramatically, people's confidence would be immediately bolstered. "They will start buying once again - durable goods, cars, and . . . homes! You never know - cheaper gas could reverse currently-sour home buyer confidence!"
Seems, however, there is little chance of that happening - in my lifetime, anyway!
Here in the Chicago area, suburban Lyons Driver Barry Baran was shocked to see his fill-up cost him $57.60 this week - for just over half a tank of regular! Chicago Resident Mary Shea travels to the suburbs to buy her gas at Sam's Club - and saves nearly 20 cents per gallon over City of Chicago pricing. She is also combining her errands to conserve fuel, and walking to visit her local Walgreen's Drug Store - about 7 blocks away.
Kenny Malkim, a suburban Glenview Taxi Driver, finds fewer people splurging for a cab. Increased fuel prices, combined with capped cab fares, have cut his take-home pay by over 60%! When he wants to visit his elderly mother in suburban Des Plaines, he rides the Suburban PACE Bus. (Ridership on the CTA, Suburban Buses, and the METRA Commuter Train Lines have increased as gas prices at the pump have surged - METRA ridership alone climbed 10% over the past year!)
The Federal Highway Administration predicts that higher fuel prices may finally convince many drivers to conserve, and drive more economically. Their figures show that miles driven nationally fell by 0.4 percent last year. This is not a large dip, to be sure - but it represents the first drop in U.S. Miles Driven in nearly 30 years!
FHA preliminary figures estimate vehicular miles driven dropped 3.9% last December, and another 1.6% in January. Although these numbers may change, and it is not a certainty that gas price increases alone were the only culprit, spokesman Doug Hecox sees a definite declining usage trend here.
Most Chicagoans, however, have no option but to drive to work. In the Chicago Metro Area, according to U.S. Census Bureau 2005 figures, only 11 percent of commuters use public transit - down from 13% in 1990. Nationally, only 4.6% of commuting workers use mass transit. Over three-fourths of drivers nationally travel to work alone in their cars.
Over the last 30 years, homeowners have moved to far-reaching suburbs. Places of employment have sprung up all over the Chicago area - not just in Downtown Chicago and The Loop. Many, therefore, have no choice but to drive to their jobs each day.
In any event, recent spikes in fuel prices have been hitting we in the four-pawed community the hardest! Just think - when was the last time you saw a Little White Dog behind the wheel of a Chevy, or a Honda? Bet you it's been a while!
Read the full story, and view accompanying video, in today's story by Rick Popely in The Chicago Tribune.
YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,
BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
