Stories tagged with "zipcar"

Where's Mayor Bloomberg's Energy Task Force?

Posted by The Interloafer on May 9, 2006 - 1:39pm in The Oil Drum: Local
Topic: Supply/Production
Tags: bicycle, bicycling, conservation, electricity, public transportation, transportation, zipcar [list all tags]

Crain's New York Business is running (behind a paywall) an entry in its "Insider" column that reminds us that Mayor Bloomberg's energy task force hasn't said much lately.
the mayor's special task force on energy policy has not issued a progress report in more than a year. Formed in July 2003, a month before the city's massive blackout, the task force is supposed to look for ways to boost New York's electricity supply by 23% by 2008.
Um, did they say increase our electricity supply? No wonder they haven't come up with anything. As a group of people who are concerned about our planet's energy future, I think we should list some ways that this might be possible.
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Variable vs. Fixed Costs of Driving

Posted by Glenn on May 2, 2006 - 9:21pm in The Oil Drum: Local
Topic: Demand/Consumption
Tags: automobile, gas prices, oil, peak oil, taxis, zipcar [list all tags]

Starts and Fits has a great piece on the percentage of cost that gas represents as part of the total cost of operating the average vehicle in a given year. This has very important implications for how people will respond economically to changes in gas prices.

...on an annual basis, the cost of gasoline is nothing compared with the cost of capital depreciation on your car. Here are the numbers from AAA's latest survey of the annual costs of car ownership:

$3,392 -- depreciation
$1,425 -- gasoline (@ last year's 2.40 a gallon)
$926 -- insurance
$735 -- maintenance
$716 -- auto loan finance charges
$150 -- tires
$490 -- other
$7,834 -- total

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