Whether it’s the aftershock of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or regular inflation, gas prices are rising steeply — a concern that is now eating away at nine out of every 10 car owners.
Many Worry That Driving Is About To Get A Whole Lot More Expensive
According to a recent survey by Autoinsurance.com, 90% of drivers in the U.S., UK and European Union countries were at least “slightly” concerned about being able to afford gas. 16% were “extremely” concerned while 20% are “moderately” worried.
“EU drivers may be the most concerned due to the centrality of Russian oil in their economies,” the insurance company said. “Crude oil accounts for about two-thirds of energy imported into EU nations, and Russia alone provides about 27% of all crude oil imported by EU nations.”
And this concern clearly doesn’t end at nail-biting and tsk-tsking alone — 45% of drivers said that they’ve already reduced the amount and length of their trips while 31% cut costs in other areas to compensate for rising gas prices.
What Are People Doing To Compensate? (Biking And Blaming Biden)
One obvious way to cut gas costs is to take public transportation or ride a bike — a solution that is much more common in European countries compared with America where car culture and limited transit in many suburban and rural areas keep people behind the wheel.
According to numbers from the American Public Transportation Association, 45% of all Americans do not have access to reliable public transportation near their home.
While 32% of EU respondents said they took public transit instead of driving to cut the cost of gas, only 5% and 6% of British and American respondents did the same. Another 15% of respondents said that they are planning to buy an electric vehicle in the next year to cut the cost of gas.
“Cutting down on driving was the most common response regardless of the driver’s nationality, but drivers in the UK and EU were more likely than their American counterparts to say they’ve rode a bike, walked, or taken public transit to manage rising costs of gasoline,” the report reads.
But when it comes to laying blame on gas costs, one pattern clearly emerges — 22% of Americans said that President Joseph Biden is “completely” or “mostly” responsible for rising gas prices in the U.S. For self-identified Republicans, that number jumps to 67%. (The survey did not ask about Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.)
