The price of gas.

[Eamonn]

Every place I go it seems that after the weather the big topic on everyones mind is the price of gas.

Last time I filled up it was 3.99.9. The day after it went down four cents.

How big an impact has the price of gas had on the Scouting programs in your area?

Ea.

[lrsap]

So far not too great of an impact other than to give the drivers a little break on activity costs where it applies. Thankfully we haven't had to change any plans because of the cost. But I can see when it comes to annual budget time this being it's own category instead of an "other" type expense.

[SSScout]

It is included in "the cost of doing business", so has not affected planning too much.

Now, when we plan a trip, we remind the boys to bring (depending on the length of the driving) $3.00 or $5.00 or such to give their driver to share the expense.

 

I carpooled out to Indiana for a conference last month. My companion offered to buy everyother tank of gas, but I said not to worry, he should just buy me dinner and lunch on the way. My Prius rarely gets less than 50 mpg,often more like 54, 56 mpg, if I am to believe the onboard dashscreen computer. Going thru the Alleghenies it dropped down to 42.

I ate well,but not extravagently(!).And we visited some museums along the way.

[packsaddle]

The higher the price goes, the more likely that we will not make frivolous trips..meaning that we will plan more and more carefully in order to make sure that the costs are truly justified. And then we'll continue to do pretty much what we do anyway, just more carefully.

Personally, I suspect that when it hits $5-6 per gallon there will be a strong shift in behaviors. Which is good. That will free up a lot more of our refining capacity so that we can make even more profit exporting gasoline.

[Papadaddy]

Just got back from a spring break trip to PA (OGE's neighborhood) to visit elderly relatives. My wife's Lincoln LS takes premium The highest price I saw was 4.52, and I found 4.15 at WaWa and thought I was getting a bargain. Regular seemed to hover around the magic level of 3.999. What I observed, though, was that the driving habits of the motoring public didn't seem to be affected. Average speed on the PA Turnpike was 75-80 in a 65 zone...even in the construction zones where the limit was 55 "strictly enforced" (NOT). Trucks were the worst, and I spent most of the trip with 80,000 lbs of death hovering about 12 inches from my rear bumper. If the great Commonwealth of PA wants to balance their budget, all they have to do is start writing tickets for speeding and aggressive driving.

[Eamonn]

"If the great Commonwealth of PA wants to balance their budget, all they have to do is start writing tickets for speeding"

Please don't give them any ideas. - I travel the pike a lot and don't need any tickets.Heck with the cost of tolls I couldn't afford anything more.

While I much prefer my own car, with the cost of gas I've started using a State car and allowing the State to pick up all the costs.

Other than moaning and groaning when I fill up, the increase hasn't changed my driving habits that much.

I'm thinking that maybe I'll go green and not mow my grass as often.

Ea.

[Eagle92]

Yes the price of gas is getting out of hand, especially in NC where we have the highest gas prices in the region, supposedly to build and maintain roads but they are now trying to toll I-95 but not the other interstates in the state.

 

I know some folks have said they are reconsidering CSDC since it is held at the local camp 22 minutes away one way and not in town. I knwo of units that are planning to limit their outings to 2 camps within a 30 minute one way drive except for summer camp and maybe a special event. It's getting rough.

 

Me personally, with the upcoming renovation at work and increasing prices, I jokingly asked if it would be possible for me to telecommute during that time.

[Oak Tree]

So far no effect on our plans. Gas is typically a small part of a weekend camping trip, and it gets built into the price we announce. I suppose there might be a Scout who doesn't go a trip because the price is going to be $35 instead of $30, but I haven't heard of it.

[T2Eagle]

I dont see it having a big impact on our plans.

 

I just ran some numbers to see what its financial impact really is. Our average outing is about 50 miles each way. Pretty standard transportation model for us is one leader and 4 scouts per car. My minivan gets about 17.5 mpg, so on a typical weekend the price of gas going from $3.50 to $4 a gallon increases the per person cost of the trip by 60 cents.

 

Thats probably no more volatility in cost than the difference between feeding 5 instead of 6 scouts in a patrol.

 

Ive read some press reports showing that although we all have a very high emotional response to these kind of increases in gas prices, for most individuals they dont result in any actual changes in behavior.

 

[T2Eagle]

I have to add Papadaddy that the reason I drive like that on the PA turnpike is because the faster I go the less time I actually have to spend on that wretched road. Since learning to drive on it 30 some years ago it remains the highway I most hate to drive on -- narrow lanes, tight turns, interminable construction, and for some really weird reason it's always either raining or snowing while I'm on it.

 

 

[Basementdweller]

Most of our program is within an hour of our CO so fuel cost have not changed anything yet.

 

Of course that is subject to change......

 

Now that we are exporting Gas to South America and soon china or india, fuel prices will probably never go down.....

[Papadaddy]

Did I mention that there are no acceleration lanes, and moving over to allow people to merge is an unheard of courtesy?

[trainerlady]

Gas prices have changed the way I look at weekend campouts. If SS had a ball game in the middle of the weekend, and needed/wanted to play in it, I used to have no problem taking him to camp on Friday, coming home, going to get him on Saturday AM and bringing him back Saturday after the game. Then going back to camp and getting him on Sunday. This was a standard practice in our unit. We camp within 30 miles of home most of the time so it wasn't a big deal to disappear for a couple of hours between meals/activities. SM's kid was the worst offender for this practice. His mom would do the driving so dad could stay at camp. Scouts had to tell the SM prior to camp that they needed to do this to be allowed to do it.

 

Also had several dads that would come out to camp in the AM, leave to work afternoons and come back about midnight to be with their sons at camp. Few dads are doing it now.

 

Now we are seeing kids forced to make a choice - go to camp and stay or stay home and play your ball game. Very few parents are now willing to make 4 round trips to the campsite so junior can take part in all his weekend activities.

 

Now before anyone jumps on my unit for this kind of practice please understand that this was a solution to kids not coming to camp because of sports. We are lucky to have several close to home sites to camp at, some aren't great but the kids get out of the house for a weekend and do camp stuff, just not my choice of sites. If we didn't allow kids to come/go for sports on weekends we'd only camp 1-3 times a year instead of 8-10 times a year. About 1/3 of our troop plays elite travel soccer or baseball. This policy was a good compromise to keep boys in sports and scouting (policy has been in place for years, long before I go there).

 

Good or bad it used to work for us.

[Troop185]

Wear and tear on my vehicle, gas, and my time, are my contribution to Boy Scouting. I do not give to the Friend of Scouting fund raiser. My way, I know my money is going to the scouts.

 

We had a trip to a recreation center at a college yesterday. 150 miles round trip. We only charge everyone $7., the price to get into the recreation center. Drivers paid for their own gas. A trip to the Red River Gorge in KY before Easter, about 900 miles round trip, we charge everyone a little extra for gas. We tell them "Drivers will partiality be refunded for gas". I was able to give every driver $115, from the money we had left from the trip. Because I have a full size, 8 person van, I probably paid closer to $200 for my gas. The extra $85 it cost me, is my contribution to the scouts.

 

I am fortunate that I am retired, and can afford to do this. Not everyone can. So I will raise the price per person, if we every take this trip again, and depending on how high gas prices are by then. On big trips, I try to charge enough to cover the price of gas, but it is a guessing game.

[moxieman]

I see no one has made note of what else happens with rising fuel prices: Rising food prices. Food has to be transported to your local market and it takes fuel to do that. The increase in the cost of fuel is passed onto the consumer in the increased cost of food.

 

One of our supermarket chains, Hannaford, is nicknamed "Can'tafford", and it's the least expensive the few chains up here in the Maine wilderness.

 

I'm sure being the end of the (US) pipeline doesn't help much either.

 

Personally, I'm not traveling for pleasure as much as I use to, nor am I volunteering at as many scouting events as I use to for while the cost of everything keeps going up and up, my pay check isn't and it isn't going as far as you use to bills/necessities-wise.