By Hariharan Ramakrishnan:
The price of petrol being risen equal to Mt. Everest height, we have less choice but to move on to other modes of commutation. Here are some alternative modes of commutation suggested so that the fuel expenditure is cut and the money is saved to invest.
The first and the best idea is to use ride your bicycle (for distance span of 7-8 km). Cycling to your nearby locations reduces your fuel cost up to 20%. So it’s time to take and take out your bicycle from your storeroom and oil it well. Bicycles really scale down your fuel expenditure as its own cost is only ten times the rate of gasoline, after which no spending at all. Riding your bicycle reduces the traffic jam and your wait at signals and makes for a relatively harmless ride. Above all you stay healthy and obviously save money that you otherwise might be spending in the gym.
Carpooling:
This alternative is for people who don’t wish to give up their current lifestyle or have to travel longer distances. The sharing of cars among colleagues reduces the fuel consumption significantly of the carpooling group as a whole and the advantage of carpooling is that you can befriend your boss. Carpooling reduces your fuel cost to about 20-30%.
Electric Vehicles:
The same flow of electrons that powers your television and iPod can now provide the energy needed to run your vehicle. The braking energy is used to generate power turning the electric motor into a generator to help recharge the battery while stopping or slowing.
These vehicles are a boon to the human kind. They are not just eco-friendly but also pull the fuel cost drastically down. With 1 unit costing around Rs. 5, it is a much better option than gasoline. 3-4 units of power charging an electric bike and a litre of petrol costing Rs.71.16 both give equal mileage and this gives the idea of how low the cost is with the electric bike. Electric cars also significantly help in this gas price-inflated period.
Mass transit:
These are common modes of transportation like city bus and city trains. Needless to say how menial the transportation cost involved is. Compare the total expense involved in this public mode of transportation and your own vehicle; you will then see the difference.
Electric cars and mass transit may be a bad idea for Tamil Nadu where both electric power cost and mass transportation cost have inflated.
Skateboards:
Skateboards make a fresh and enjoyable ride to travel in your city corners. Especially it helps you in cutting down your children’s fuel cost to college.
Alternate Fuels:
With alternate fuel like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the cost is also lesser and the mileage given is also higher, so there is higher efficiency with lower fuel expense. Also, it is more eco-friendly.
Here we got lot options to escape the fuel price hike, so we better choose any other commutation, taking ourselves back to the fun-making younger ages. We need to stop burning holes in our pockets with an expense which makes your child’s education fee seem next to it.