Is This Gas Station Trying to Save Me Money?

[Dembadon]

I usually park in front of this gas station so I don't have to buy a parking pass for my university, which are very expensive. I almost missed this and thought it was funny:

I have not altered the photo in any way apart from blurring the name of the station and the weekly message at the bottom of the sign.

 

[Office_Shredder]

Yup, look at those prices just going up and up and actually, pretty much down for the last two weeks
http://gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx

Whereabouts are you? You must be experiencing a gas bubble

 

[Ryan_m_b]

[strike]What does this relate to in dollars per gallon/pounds per litre? I'm not entirely sure what this sign is saying or what it means by 9/10 :shy:[/strike]

EDIT: a bit of googling tells me that that 9/10 means 9/10ths of a cent (I thought it might refer to a measurement of fuel rather than price) which is makes this an amazing price I wish fuel was that cheap here!

In the UK the average price for unleaded petrol is £1.42/litre ($8.70/gallon) and £1.47/litre ($9.01/gallon) for diesel. It's a ridiculous price. Luckily I live near London where public transport means that travel is far cheaper and faster than a car but it's still a prohibitive pain for most people. Alternatives to driving/fossil fuels can't come soon enough.

 

[Dembadon]

Yup, look at those prices just going up and up and actually, pretty much down for the last two weeks
http://gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx

Whereabouts are you? You must be experiencing a gas bubble

I live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It has been under $4.00 / gal for quite some time, and only this week did it jump over that. It might not last long, but until I get a car that gets better gas mileage than the one I have, 4$/gal hurts!

 

[Dembadon]

[strike]What does this relate to in dollars per gallon/pounds per litre? I'm not entirely sure what this sign is saying or what it means by 9/10 :shy:[/strike]

EDIT: a bit of googling tells me that that 9/10 means 9/10ths of a cent (I thought it might refer to a measurement of fuel rather than price) which is makes this an amazing price I wish fuel was that cheap here!

In the UK the average price for unleaded petrol is £1.42/litre ($8.70/gallon) and £1.47/litre ($9.01/gallon) for diesel. It's a ridiculous price. Luckily I live near London where public transport means that travel is far cheaper and faster than a car but it's still a prohibitive pain for most people. Alternatives to driving/fossil fuels can't come soon enough.

Yea, I can't really hold a candle to those prices. Hopefully you have a fuel efficient vehicle.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Yea, I can't really hold a candle to those prices. Hopefully you have a fuel efficient vehicle.

Usually I just jump on public transport. Otherwise my preferred mode of transport is pretty efficient; it consists of two wheels and some peddles I got rid of my last car when it became too expensive and public transport started to look comparatively cheaper.

 

[Dembadon]

Usually I just jump on public transport. Otherwise my preferred mode of transport is pretty efficient; it consists of two wheels and some peddles I got rid of my last car when it became too expensive and public transport started to look comparatively cheaper.

Nice! I got a new bike a few months ago. I now live close enough to the university that I can ride it instead of driving; my previous residence was a 50 minute drive from campus.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Nice! I got a new bike a few months ago. I now live close enough to the university that I can ride it instead of driving; my previous residence was a 50 minute drive from campus.

Sweet! When I was doing my masters last year I was a 30 minute cycle home, 10-15 minute cycle there (damn hill!). As well as being good exercise I find cycling more fun than driving. Quite a bit scarier though if you're on a busy road with lunatic drivers...

 

[Dembadon]

Sweet! When I was doing my masters last year I was a 30 minute cycle home, 10-15 minute cycle there (damn hill!). As well as being good exercise I find cycling more fun than driving. Quite a bit scarier though if you're on a busy road with lunatic drivers...

Agreed. We got so much snow where I used to live that I had to hang up the bike for most of the winter season (which is usually pretty long). It even when the roads were cleared, one still had to ride too close to the flow of traffic for it to be safe. Ice and close quarters don't mix. We've moved down about a thousand feet in elevation so the snow accumulation in the winter season is next to nothing. I don't mind riding in cold weather (I just bundle-up), but I won't ride in the snow! People are just too careless with their driving.

 

[D H]

[strike]What does this relate to in dollars per gallon/pounds per litre? I'm not entirely sure what this sign is saying or what it means by 9/10 :shy:[/strike]

EDIT: a bit of googling tells me that that 9/10 means 9/10ths of a cent (I thought it might refer to a measurement of fuel rather than price) which is makes this an amazing price I wish fuel was that cheap here!

That 9/10 cent is old; it goes back to the 1930s. That the cost per gallon involved fractions of cents made sense when gas was 25 cents per gallon or less. A one cent change in price represented a significant fraction of the total cost back then.

There's also a problem in how stupid people are in general with regard to math. Even when prices where that low, people perceived the 1/10 cent difference between 24 9/10 and 25 as larger than the 9/10 cent difference 24 and 24 9/10. That 9/10 figure quickly became an immutable quantity.

Every once in a while gas stations have charged something other than x.xx 9/10 per gallon. The public's reaction: What's this? Are you trying to cheat us? Are you a communist or sumfin? The result: That 9/10 cent quickly goes back in place.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

That 9/10 cent is old; it goes back to the 1930s. That the cost per gallon involved fractions of cents made sense when gas was 25 cents per gallon or less. A one cent change in price represented a significant fraction of the total cost back then.

There's also a problem in how stupid people are in general with regard to math. Even when prices where that low, people perceived the 1/10 cent difference between 24 9/10 and 25 as larger than the 9/10 cent difference 24 and 24 9/10. That 9/10 figure quickly became an immutable quantity.

Every once in a while gas stations have charged something other than x.xx 9/10 per gallon. The public's reaction: What's this? Are you trying to cheat us? Are you a communist or sumfin? The result: That 9/10 cent quickly goes back in place.

Lol, standard marketing I suppose. People see a .9 and round down for some reason. In the UK prices are listed to 10ths of a penny but that's because prices tend to be listed in pounds to three decimal places rather than having a fixed fraction e.g. 1.412/L rather than 1.42 1/10 L.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Agreed. We got so much snow where I used to live that I had to hang up the bike for most of the winter season (which is usually pretty long). It even when the roads were cleared, one still had to ride too close to the flow of traffic for it to be safe. Ice and close quarters don't mix. We've moved down about a thousand feet in elevation so the snow accumulation in the winter season is next to nothing. I don't mind riding in cold weather (I just bundle-up), but I won't ride in the snow! People are just too careless with their driving.

If it snows I much prefer to walk than any other option. If I have to go on a long walk through the snow I'll probably find it enjoyable (so long as I've wrapped up warm) compared to the near death experience that cycling or driving can be.

 

[turbo]

I love walking. The problem with living in a hugely rural state is that NOTHING is close and you have to drive. I took my Honda Ridgeline into my mechanic for an inspection a couple of days ago, and it still has less than 3000 miles on the odometer. At 3000 miles (or less) per year, this truck might last me a while (as long as parts are still available). No sheikhs are buying swimming pools on my dime.

 

[einstein666]

It's been going up steadily thanks to perpetual war. :(