What is Gas Cost?
Many people assume a road trip is a cheaper way to travel across the country than flying, but that isn’t always the case. It depends on the current gas cost price that are going up daily and your buying power which is steadily declining due to inflation, the unfortunate truth is that it is unwise to plan a road trip without first calculating the cost of gas.
The general rule is that about two-thirds of your cost of gas at the pump is determined by crude oil cost. The rest is a combination of taxes, refining, distribution and marketing.
Factors that Determine the Fuel Price.
- Government intervention. Governments may intervene in gasoline markets by taxation, which may raise prices for consumers. Sometimes, they give subsidies and this tend to lower the prices.
- Financial markets. The global oil price fluctuates constantly.
- Politics. Political elements such as structure, regime, personnel, and events can all affect the cost of fuel.
- Geographic areas. Regional consumers within close proximity of high supplies of oil are more likely to have lower costs of fuel due to ease of access. Areas without their own supply of oil that are isolated from the rest of the world can find fuel to be relatively expensive.
How to Reduce Gas Prices.
- Use public transportation.
- Carpool.
- Use a more fuel efficient vehicle.
- Tune the engine properly to maximize power and enhance fuel efficiency.
- Properly inflate the tires as this can reduce fuel consumption by up to 3%.
- Smart routing. Make sure you take optimal paths to reach your desired destination.
- Avoid idling.
Formula to Calculate Gas Cost.
We use the following method to determine the cost of gas.
Example:
If your mpg is 20 and your planning to travel for 800 miles, calculate your gas cost if the current price of gas per gallon is $ 2.
Therefore, the gas cost is $ 80.
