10 Ways to Save Gas
1) Drive Less
What's within walking or bicycling distance of your home or office? Could you walk or bike to the store or to school. Could you walk between destinations that you drive to. If you have two errands too far from your home to walk, but close to each other, drive to one then walk to the other.
For leisure activities, choose options closer to home. Instead of going fishing at a lake far away, would one closer by do? Instead of going to the beach for the weekend, try camping and swimming at the Eno River, for example.
If it is an option for your position, you may be able to avoid commuting altogether by working from home all or part of the week in a telecommuting arrangement.
2) Avoid Rush Hour
Stop and go traffic is terrible for your mileage and your engine. If Flextime is an option for your position, go in to work early or late, and leave the same amount early or late.
Again, if your position permits, you may be able to save gas on commuting by working a compressed work week (For example, 4 days with 10 hours a day).
3) Combine Errands
A little planning goes a long way. Your car uses more gas when the engine is cold than when it is warm, and you'll save a lot of back and forth driving as well. According to the Department of Energy, several short trips all begun with a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a single, longer trip that covers the same distance.
4) Use On-Campus Services
You can cut a large amount of driving by getting many of your errands done walking around campus. While on campus, you can...
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Pick up a gift, card, book, etc.
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Get your hair cut (684-3909)
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Buy toiletries and other convenience store items - The Lobby Shop, Uncle Harry's and the East Campus Store.
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Get your prescriptions filled (684-2908)
5) Tune-up Your Car
According to Edmunds.com, "Fouled spark plugs, a dirty air filter or clogged fuel filter will all affect your fuel economy." The U.S. Department of Energy has found that replacing a clogged air filter can increase your mileage by 10 percent, while replacing an oxygen sensor could result in an improvement as high as 40 percent.
Take off roof racks when they are not required as they add significant drag to the car's aerodynamics.
According to the Department of Energy, inflating your tires properly can improve fuel economy by about 3.3 percent. Replacing deep tread or big tires with good weather road tires can also reduce fuel use.
6) Drive Intelligently
Don't accelerate rapidly. Instead of accelerating up to stops and then braking forcefully, coast early.
Slow down on the highway. At speeds over 45 mph, aerodynamic drag becomes a significant factor in fuel economy. The Department of Energy says that every 5 mph you drive over 65 mph represents a 7-percent decrease in fuel economy.
Following too closely will reduce your fuel economy as you will have to brake quickly more often.
7) Carpool/Rideshare
If you have a regular commute schedule, carpooling may be a great option for you. The trick is finding people that live near you who have similar commute schedules. Fortunately, many Duke employees and affiliates have already entered their commute information into the Triangle Transit Authority's online carpool-matching program. Enter your address and work location and it will automatically put you in touch with nearby people with your same commute profile.
Once you have put together a carpool, Duke Parking Services offers a half-price carpool permit.
8) Ride the Bus
While buses use fuel, they can move many more people with the less fuel than cars can. So, riding the bus is a great way to help conserve fuel. Bus service and routes are not ideally situated for everyone's work and home location. Use the Triangle Transit Authority's simple Online Bus Trip Planner to find out if there is a convenient route between your home, work or any other locations you frequently visit. (www.gotriangle.org)
Remember: All Triangle area buses have bike racks! You may be able to cut the trip time given by the Online Trip Planner by riding to a different bus stop or bus line.
Around Campus
Duke Transit focuses primarily on moving students around campus and employees between their offices and their parked vehicles. Try the bus for a convenient, timely option to travel between east and west campus, head to the Nasher for lunch or get to a meeting without having to search for parking. Campus bus schedules.
9) Use the Terrain
Allow the car's momentum to pick up speed on downhills in order to coast up the next hill. Always observe the speed limit and avoid doing this on busy roads.
Using the terrain will achieve significantly higher gas mileage than cruise control, which brakes the car's momentum on a downhill and accelerates up the next hill.
In relatively flat terrain, cruise control will generally perform better than manual control.
10) Sell Your Car
Particularly if it is a highly fuel efficient model. They are in high demand these days, so you should be able to get a good price. Once you've sold it, you shouldn't have any trouble using it less.
Going carless a little too extreme - replace your current car with one of the most environmentally friendly models.
Gas saving tips from these sites were drawn upon when compiling this list for a Duke audience: