Cheaper gas is just a few clicks away

This post was updated at 9 a.m. PDT with clarifying details on GasBuddy.com's data source and the correct spelling on Milt Krantz' name.

Perhaps you heard Wednesday's news about the price of crude oil once again reaching all-time highs, and, like me, you're wondering how that's going to affect gas prices at the pump as you fill up for your Memorial Day weekend trip.

Rest assured, you've got the likes of Milt Krantz on your side.

Krantz, 71, a retired social worker from San Jose, Calif., is also a designated gas price spotter for GasBuddy.com, one of a handful of increasingly busy sites for finding cheap gas in your vicinity.

"It's a little something I can do about the price of gas," said Krantz, adding that the payoff for his efforts is the feeling that consumers are working together to make a difference. "We're in it together."

And what a difference such information can make: In San Francisco on Tuesday, for example, the price of a gallon of regular gasoline ranged from $3.86 to $4.53, depending upon location, according to Gas.Buddy.com's regional site SanFranGasPrices.com. That's a 67-cent difference, or $10.05, when filling a 15-gallon tank.

That potential savings, combined with the scary sound of $4-a-gallon gas, has been driving up traffic to such sites.

"For about the last 60 days, we've seen a nice steady ramp up," said Brad Proctor, founder of GasPriceWatch.com, which offers price data from about 130,000 gas stations.

The results of a search on MapQuest Gas Prices using CNET's San Francisco ZIP code.

(Credit: MapQuest)

GasBuddy.com, which serves as an umbrella site for 180 regionalized sites covering some 170,000 gas stations in the U.S. and Canada, has seen more of a steady climb in traffic, said co-founder Jason Toews. When we last talked to Toews in 2005--as gas prices were hitting a then-shocking $3 per gallon--GasBuddy was averaging about 700,000 to 800,000 unique visitors a day. Now it gets about 2 million visitors a day, he said.

Of course, gas price sites vary greatly in terms of format, functionality, and info-gathering methodology. GasBuddy.com and GasPriceWatch.com, both 8-year-old sites, rely on their networks of registered members/spotters, but also factor in information from retailers and other sources. GasBuddy has some 1.4 million member/spotters and GasPriceWatch has about 166,000. And both have arrangements to share their data with other media outlets

"In 2000, I never would have thought gas prices would be this high. It doesn't surprise me anymore...We've sort of gotten desensitized to the high prices."

--GasBuddy.com co-founder Jason Toews

Spotters are community members who are usually offered incentive points or a chance to win a "thank you" prize such as a discount on gas. But for Krantz, who uploads prices at least once a week, the motivation is more the idea of exposing the stations that are gouging consumers and rewarding the ones that are not.

"People still want to think they have a little power with their dollar," added Proctor.

AAA's Gas Price Finder, unlike the other two sites, uses data derived primarily from credit card transactions. And MapQuest Gas Prices and MSN Gas Prices rely on data supplied by the Oil Price Information Service, a pricing database that collects information from 125,000 North American retail outlets.

It should be noted that new technologies have changed the way consumers are accessing information from the gas price sites. Some, like me, are still looking at the sites on their PCs. But other gadgeteers are getting such information through in-car GPS systems, text messaging, and smartphone applications.

As far as tools go, GasBuddy.com has one of the coolest in what it calls its Gas Temperature Map, an interactive display of gas prices around the country, with areas color-coded according to their average price for regular unleaded gasoline. Through the map, and with a little guidance from Toews, I learned Tuesday the lowest gas price in the country was found in Rapid City, S.D., at $3.38 per gallon, and the highest was in Beaver Island, Mich., at $5.19 per gallon.

"In 2000, I never would have thought gas prices would be this high. It doesn't surprise me anymore," Toews said. "We've gotten desensitized to the high prices." Nonetheless, he does expect activity on his site to be brisk before the three-day weekend.

Toews offered a closing hint for bargain shoppers. Look for Arco service stations, which don't accept credit cards and therefore can offer cheaper prices.

GasBuddy.com's Gas Temperature Map is an interactive display of gas prices around the country, with areas color-coded according to their average price for regular unleaded gasoline.

(Credit: GasBuddy.com)

[suyts]

You want cheaper gas??? Build some refineries and start drilling the oil off-shore Cali. Or build new refineries and drill ANWR. Or build new refineries and drill off-shore Florida.

[The_Decider]

Clueless as ever

The amount of oil that can be extracted from that area is so minuscule, it will not dent the price of oil.

Even if it were enough to substantially add to the supply, you really think that prices at the pump would drop?

Not if Exxon, Mobil, etc have anything to say about it.

The only real solution is to end our dependence of oil.

[suyts]

Decider, right, we'll wave our collective wand and suddenly (not even within the next 5yrs) we'll end our dependence on oil. 10.3 billion barrels of prime crude in ANWR alone. We import 750 million a yr. You don't think this would have an effect on prices? Whose clueless? Exxon, Mobil ect. only drill 6% of the worlds oil supply, most comes from nationalized drilling operations such as Venezuela, Iran and the like. I'm all for finding alternatives to oil but doing so doesn't address the realities of today.

[whittier1000]

agree . in the 70's USA started drilling own oil off california and low and behold the gas crunch disappeared

[55webec]

You think prices are high now, most Economists Worldwide predict
prices will more than double within 3-5 years. Start beating it now with a simple cost effective pill, use it and save up to 20%on fuel costs and reduce exhaust emissions up to 75%, check it out here.
http://www.gainkilometers.myffi.biz/

Every person who owns a motor vehicle can and will benefit from this product and its available Worldwide, this Business is International.
A friend of mine introduced me to this product, I was sceptical at first because there are so many products that make similar claims, but NOW I BELIEVE.

My friend told me so many positives about the product, but he
stipulated that I should try it myself first. I tried it 2 weeks later I purchased a Premium pack, then when I received the
pack I gave a small amount away to 2 Cab drivers, a Courier driver and a Truck driver. I told each of them to try the product then contact me if they wanted more, I hate pushing Products or Businesses onto people.

Each of them came back for more and they had told so many other
people about it. The company Guarantee this product with Money Back, and claim savings of 7-14% on Fuel usage, however all of my customers make claims of 12-19% savings. The truck driver was spending $7000 per week on fuel between 5 vehicles, he has reduced his total bill by $1400. I have 2 Mining companies trialing the product at the moment and if I am lucky
enough to win them onto the product I know that I will be able to give my normal job away, this is the best thing I have ever been involved in.
Click on my link, mouse over the map select the area closest to
where you live and check everything out, watch the video's and decide for yourself. I never push anyone, best of luck, and thanks for your interest.

[magnoliablosssom]

The sight for finding cheaper gas might work in some places, but when I looked the last prices posted in my area were 3.35, which I know is wrong. They really need to work to make sure that their spotters are using up to date info.

[kirkn]

How about going to Gasbuddy.com in your area and helping out by updating the prices? Even if they are just for the stations you visit. I do this in my area.

[johnalphonse-22167694933540745]

Thing is, stations can and do change their prices any second, and I've driven up to several where the advertised price was not the same as the pump price. Understanding the situation but in defense of these services, it's next to impossible to keep up with the whims of every station manager flipping numbers on a sign...

[bradster999]

The price of gas keeps going up. Now we see that food prices are also going up because it costs money to produce and haul food to it''s destination. Food staples like wheat, rice and corn are getting expensive and fuel costs are partly to blame for this. It''s a vicious circle. Do the gas companies really think this will not come back to bite them. As public trust of oil companies continues to diminish, they may find they could be facing a strong consumer backlash. It''s true they hold the oil and gas but we hold the dollar and remember, it ain''t called the almighty dollar for nothing.

Oil companies sell gas and carmakers sell cars that use gas so it's a mutually beneficial situation for both of them. The solution is to stop buying new cars for a year until carmakers start building 100% electric or hydrogen powered cars, not hybrids. This would send a message to both the carmakers and oil companies that they understand. Sorry car makers but you brought this on yourself by not speeding up the conversion. No pain no gain. Problem solved. Visit our website and take our gas price poll at www.nbtv.ca

The results of the poll on NBTV indicate 76% of the public believe that the gas companies are fixing gas prices. 93% believe they are price gouging. 68% believe the gas companies and carmakers conspired to prolong our dependence on gas powered cars. 53% believe the gas companies and government conspired to keep the price higher than normal and sofar our new trust poll it shows that 100% of respondence DO NOT TRUST the oil companies. These are all the results up till now 12:49 pm Sunday May 18, 2008 You can check out the results yourself on www.nbtv.ca if you like.

Inflation took a big jump this month thanks mostly to gas prices. A study done for the US energy dept says oil prices will spiral upward some day and they predict when this happens all hell will break loose. read the hirsch report http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsch_report . Harper says he can do little to help the consumer so it's up to us.

[lyntone]

The profits of the oil industry tell us the whole story.
I understand the government offered the oil companies land on the closed Army Bases to build refineries, the oil companies turned down the offer.
Why should they ?
They are making Hugh profits, why would they want to change that?
I'm tired of the dog and pony show in the congress hearings with the oilmem!
The only answer is for the government to NATIONALIZE the oil industry , and throw in the health care and drug industry!
Stop the profiteering, why do we put the future of this country in thre hands of such greedy profiteers, the government can hire workers to supply the needs of the people.
If cities can steal you home for private retail stores, to secure more money for the city, then the federal government should be able to take the oil industry for the good of the nation!

[dswatik]

Simple solution to the problem.... stop driving!! everyone should just take a vacation at once but stay home...a week without everyone filling up those SUV's will seriously bring the damand down and thus bring the price down....

Either that get a smaller car people those SUV's are gas guzzlers.

[Metaljman]

Yeah, this would work, how come I still the pain even though:

1. I ride my bike to work most days.
2. I drive a Hyundai Accent with low gas mileage.

Because everything is going to be effected by the rise in gas prices.

[gsmiller88]

For my entire county there is only one gas station listed, a Murphy USA station at my friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart, and I NEVER buy gas there. It's the same ol' Shell station for me I guess.

[thetruth1960]

Hmmm. My billing rate is $95/hr. It will take me 10 minutes to find the cheaper price, it will take me 15-30 minutes to drive out of my way to get to the cheaper gas. So I saved $10.05 to get the gas, but I spent anywhere between $40-$55 of my billable time. Oh and how much gas does Milt Krantz spends driving around to spot the best gas price. Yes, I'm sure the logic behind it is to report it as you see it, but knowing human nature, these people will start driving around so they could be the one who spotted the best price. Oh and don't even consider the slowdown/stop speedup/start when they are looking for the prices. That driving behavior wastes gas, and not only theirs but the gas of the cars following them.

Is it a drag that the price of oils keeps going up? Oh yes, it is. But I hope people takes everything in consideration before they act. For instance, the person that goes out and buys a nice new Prius instead of buying a reliable older model with good gas millage. It takes 46K miles before the carbon footprint of the prius manufacturing is offset.

OK enough for me. I just spent $25 writing this post instead of working.

[yacahuma]

thetruth1960, 95$/hr. Good for you. Could you please tell me what you do for a living? I would like to do the same thing.

My comment for this story, I just dont care. I cant wait for the stupid oil to be gone. Humanity will go on. We can use, solar, wind, geothermal, recycling, etc, etc. And if we cant, I will gladly. stop working, go naked to the beach, and get my food the old fashion way. We are living in a Matrix and we dont realize it.

[open-mind]

At least one major auto company is working as fast as they can to mass-produce an electric car:

http://www.gm-volt.com

[kevinskrause]

Coal is the 2nd most used commodity, right behind oil of course, to generate energy. It already accounts for 39% of the worlds carbon emissions and is set to topple oil for the number one spot by 2012. 72% of annual coal consumption is spent in various power plants to produce electricity. The same plants that provide energy to the electric outlets we will eventually use to power our ?fully electric? cars. So, why do we give tax cuts to hybrid owners? Because they are more responsible and eco-friendly? Bull @%#&!!! Emissions have, and will, quite simply move from a back-ended to a front-loaded system.
Take that, coupled with the clouds of ?smug? bellowing from their over-inflated egos, and Hybrid owners are no worse than SUV owners; whom I hate just as much.

Hydrogen? Two problems; Evaporation and Cooling. It takes a pretty big battery to cool the hydrogen to a non-volatile state. Where do you think that renewable energy comes from? Assuming the car is not in motion. And if the car is not in motion, unused hydrogen will begin to evaporate in a surprisingly short amount of time.

My point; There is no quick fix. We are stuck with poor federal decisions and a lack of responsibility from the general public. I?m sorry, but why does every soccer mom with three kids, living off of Hubby?s hard earned income and expected pension savings, need to drive a suburban? Thanks for screwing up supply and demand and making the road unsafe for the rest of us. But that last comment is for a whole other discussion.

I?ll be leaving work in a few moments. I bid you farewell as I jump into my ?98 E36. Superior sport tuned performance and 0-60 in 5.3 seconds; and I get 28 miles to the gallon. So please do me a favor, get your bubble butt SUV?s and no horsepower hybrids out of my way. A real driver is trying to make his way through.

[open-mind]

Thanks, my world makes sense now.

But can you explain why BMW owners are unfairly stereotyped as pretentious overbearing condescending snobs?

;-)

[kevinskrause]

There are two types of BMW owners. Those that have an unequivocal passion for driving; and those that should have bought a Benz. You have obviously confused me with the later. I am just sick and tired of everyone complaining about the price of gas. Buy futures, buy sector specific ETF?s, buy Exxon stock and collect a portion of the $8.3 billion they paid in dividends, take the bus, buy a bike, join a convent, just please stop &$*@#ing. Better yet, write your congressman and ask him to alleviate taxes on gas. That will certainly lower the price. I?m not in the business of making sense of this world, so please forgive me if I seem overbearing or pretentious when I share my opinion. Fact is, we made things the way they are and now we have to suffer the consequences. Seems we have two options; cry like a bunch of little school girls or find constructive solutions. Problem is, any long-term solution will require dedication and patience.

[johnalphonse-22167694933540745]

Thing is, stations can and do change their prices any second, and I've driven up to several where the advertised price was not the same as the pump price. Understanding the situation but in defense of these services, it's next to impossible to keep up with the whims of every station manager flipping numbers on a sign...

[johnalphonse-22167694933540745]

Grow local, buy local, and support solar, geothermal and gasification processes. Where this price thing really hurts is heating the home, because you have less control over that than how much you drive. The relative price on a fill-up is miniscule relative to coffee prices, etc.

[gmon750]

Anyone who has spent any major time outside of the US will know how easy we Americans have it even at today's pump prices. Europeans pay about $8.00/gallon. Bad planning, urban sprawl, and just downright gluttonous habits have put us in this position. We buy homes far away from our jobs, we have to drive everywhere to get anything and nothing is local. While I understand how difficult it is for a lot of people, I don't sympathize much because I know what people pay outside of the US. We just got so stuck in some twisted mantra that as Americans, we have the god-given entitlement to have everything cheaper than everyone else.

The answer is not to continue drilling for new sites. It's only delaying the inevitable. Start respecting our resources instead of taking them for granted. If you can walk somewhere, or bicycle, or take public transportation then do it. Instead of building communities in the middle of nowhere, do smarter planning that wouldn't require us to get in a car just to go to the supermarket.

Our country can come up with amazing solutions to near-impossible problems. It's these types of economic kick-in-the-backsides that solutions are made. For the time being, conservation is key. Junking that SUV wouldn't be a bad idea either.

[paulieboy44]

I think that these current gas prices are ridiculous and only benefiting a certain few who are profiteering over the misery of many. How could such a small group of a few hold so much power over many?

This gas crisis is so out of hand, that I've resorted to drastic measures. Recently I converted my 04 Cadillac to utilize water as fuel from an easy to install kit, I obtained online from a company called Water4fuel.info

[55webec]

You think prices are high now, most Economists Worldwide predict
prices will more than double within 3-5 years. Start beating it now with a simple cost effective pill, use it and save up to 20%on fuel costs and reduce exhaust emissions up to 75%, check it out here.
http://www.gainkilometers.myffi.biz/

Every person who owns a motor vehicle can and will benefit from this product and its available Worldwide, this Business is International.
A friend of mine introduced me to this product, I was sceptical at first because there are so many products that make similar claims, but NOW I BELIEVE.

My friend told me so many positives about the product, but he
stipulated that I should try it myself first. I tried it 2 weeks later I purchased a Premium pack, then when I received the
pack I gave a small amount away to 2 Cab drivers, a Courier driver and a Truck driver. I told each of them to try the product then contact me if they wanted more, I hate pushing Products or Businesses onto people.

Each of them came back for more and they had told so many other
people about it. The company Guarantee this product with Money Back, and claim savings of 7-14% on Fuel usage, however all of my customers make claims of 12-19% savings. The truck driver was spending $7000 per week on fuel between 5 vehicles, he has reduced his total bill by $1400. I have 2 Mining companies trialing the product at the moment and if I am lucky
enough to win them onto the product I know that I will be able to give my normal job away, this is the best thing I have ever been involved in.
Click on my link, mouse over the map select the area closest to
where you live and check everything out, watch the video's and decide for yourself. I never push anyone, best of luck, and thanks for your interest.

[benjaminstraight]

Neat website, but driving out of the way to save a few pennies doesn't make much sense.