[mjothi]

Originally Posted by KSM-Vtec

An interesting incident that happened with me this time when the fuel prices were increased by INR 5 in mumbai. I was getting back from work and wanted to refuel but was shocked to see that all petrol bunks had a 20-30 car long que. To my surprise this continued till midnight i am told, after which the price was hiked. AND THEN NO MORE QUES !!!

Yup. This is going to be a normal affiar on every last day of the month if this is implemented

[vasudeva]

First of all, whether the recommendations will be implemented is seriously in doubt, given that this is an election year, and this Government is not known for fiscal prudence.

On an economic basis, there is no basis for subsidies considering that people who pay for petrol and most of diesel should not be subsidised at all, and in fact, it has been proved that such subsidies are regressive in developing countries. It is another matter that the justifiably high taxes that we pay for a scarce resource is used to buy votes and prolong the productive earning life of politicians.

Third to say that NYMEX has fallen to US$113/bbl is no justification for a decline. There are huge deficits that have already been incurred, and perhaps the recent decline only part covers that shortfall, if at all.

IMHO, economics will now (as always in India) go out for a six, and if crude prices keep on declining or even at current levels, the Govt. may cut prices later just before election, and use it as an election tool.

[bblost]

>the Govt. may cut prices later just before election,

One can only wonder how desolate a petrol bunk will be the day before the price slash.
Maybe they will offer schemes like buy 5 L and get 1L free.

if wishes were horses..

[supremeBaleno]

@bblost, man you are just hilarious.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I would like to thank the Government of USA for screwing the world economy, resulting in crash in Indian stock market, loss in my personal savings and income, as well as increasing my monthly budget.

+1 to that. The root of this problem (and many others like food prices, environmental disaster etc) can be traced to the self-centred policies of the US of A.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

At what price per litre do you think we will start thinking different ? My guess is Rs.500 per litre. At a time when the monthly income is hovering around Rs.1-2 Lakhs, 50K per month for petrol would hurt, not 6k or 7k.

For starters, Rs75 per litre is not a bad idea. And if crude prices move northwards, we can up this figure. Ofcourse the pain threshold will be different for different people (even differing within the same earning segment).

Originally Posted by suman

Wasn't the last one a fairly big hike? Are you seeing any reduction in the volume of traffic on the roads - just curious because I'm really seeing no reduction here in the NCR?

Well, taking into account the past hikes of Re1 or Rs2, yes, Rs5 was comparitively big. But if you look at the huge increase in crude prices and rising deficit of oil companies, it was miniscule.

You NCR guys are loaded and would be least bothered about a 5 buck hike which could be why no reduction in usage seen there. But I did notice visible reduction in usage in Chennai. Heck I have drastically reduced car usage myself - though not due to the money factor.

Originally Posted by suman

Also, all that talk about "car pools" etc really doesn't translate into much reality because its one hell of a pain trying to match departure times from the Office (even assuming that getting there in a group is feasible).

Agree that it is not easy, but certainly not impossible. I have done it for 3 years and my work timings are as erratic as possible. A little sacrifice will make it work.

Originally Posted by anandtheleo

So, can't they provide separate diesel bunks only for trucks, where diesel is given at the subsidized rate and keep the general bunk's where private cars/suv's can fill up diesel at higher rates(nearer to petrol rates).

As esteem_lover said, this will only lead to other malpractices.

Originally Posted by DieselFan

It is a well known fact that subsidies Do not work on a long term basis. It is a Zero sum game. hence if the government subsidizes diesel on a long run will lead to severe inflation one way or the other. The best thing to do is let the free market economy take over and the prices be decided based on the market. If we have to pay 100 Rs/lt of diesel so be it. Overall humans/Indians will be forced to Invent. Like the old saying goes "Necessity is the Mother of Invention".

Really well said. Actually seeing your alias, I was thinking you would be against the idea of hiking diesel prices. You proved me wrong.

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Would you be so kind as to respond to certain other points that you have left out. IF the government wants to reign in the fuel bill of the country - they need to start with their own backyard.

Ha Ricky, you did not seem to get the point of this thread. I agree that there is lot of stuff the govt can do. But that is not what this is about.

It is about how we can encourage prudent usage (by levying the real price of the product instead of getting it subsidised) of a resource that is going to be over in the near future, working towards identifying alternative solutions for energy instead of being dependent on something that has a set lifetime.

[benbsb29]

A Rs. 5/- hike in petrol prices, and already someone has started stealing petrol from my bike's tank by cutting the pipe from the petrol tank. Apparently, this has also happened with a couple of other bikes parked in the apartment parking lot.
Increase it some more, and things like this will only start getting more prominent.

What next? Car thieves steal a car, leave behind the car but not before they drain out all the fuel from it for their usage.

[anonymous]

After this hike, the normal diesel is 36 and premium diesel is 38 Rs, where earlier the difference between these used to be 50 paisa only. IMHO, this is acceptable.

[Ricky_63]

Ha Ricky, you did not seem to get the point of this thread. I agree that there is lot of stuff the govt can do. But that is not what this is about.

Kaash maine 8th ke baad padhai ki hoti (how I wish I had studied beyond grade 8)

It is about how we can encourage prudent usage (by levying the real price of the product instead of getting it subsidised) of a resource that is going to be over in the near future, working towards identifying alternative solutions for energy instead of being dependent on something that has a set lifetime.[/quote]

Pardon me - prudent useage of wasteful Govt. expenses like cars running to get a paan for the sahib would be a start.


Anyway Sir you have your valid point & I (think) I have mine. So cheers:



Cheers

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by bblost

>the Govt. may cut prices later just before election,

One can only wonder how desolate a petrol bunk will be the day before the price slash.
Maybe they will offer schemes like buy 5 L and get 1L free.

if wishes were horses..

Don't the petrol bunk owners get a fixed amount per litre as commission ? So, how does a change in price benefit the owners ?

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

A Rs. 5/- hike in petrol prices, and already someone has started stealing petrol from my bike's tank by cutting the pipe from the petrol tank. Apparently, this has also happened with a couple of other bikes parked in the apartment parking lot.
Increase it some more, and things like this will only start getting more prominent.

What next? Car thieves steal a car, leave behind the car but not before they drain out all the fuel from it for their usage.

Points to be noted. But I think this was happening even when the price was 36rs for petrol years back.

Where are those mofa's and lunas? We need to go back by century with cycles only. As someone mentioned, time to get the bike's lane on the road.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Kaash maine 8th ke baad padhai ki hoti (how I wish I had studied beyond grade 8)

Abhi bhi samay hai. Baaki padhai poori kar sakte ho.

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Pardon me - prudent useage of wasteful Govt. expenses like cars running to get a paan for the sahib would be a start.

You have a point, which can also be seen in the light of what happens when resources are given out free or below actual value. It is a normal human tendency to not value anything that we get free or at lower than actual value. Give someone free electricity, and he will have lights/fans on all day and night, because there is no obligation from his part to pay for it. So, maybe we should cut off the free cars/fuel for the babus.

While I could not believe it initially, there were reports in the media of gas pilferage from cars in the US. If US is there, will India be far behind, Benny ? We had this problem in our apartment many years ago - later traced to a teenager whose pocket money could not cover the fuel requirement for his bike.

[suman]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Agree that it is not easy, but certainly not impossible. I have done it for 3 years and my work timings are as erratic as possible. A little sacrifice will make it work.

More sacrifice? I leave home at 8 am & return between 7.30 & 9 pm depending on the timing & occurrence of conference calls etc - evenings, the 32 km commute takes anything upto 1.5 hours. Do you feel it is practical asking someone who stays in my vicinity to wait for me till 7.30 pm on the days I have calls (or vice versa, me wait on days when he has something else)? Doesn't work.

Its probably easier doing it in a city where the commuting distances are not so large or where residential areas are not so spread out - perhaps that's why you've managed.

[hrag]

I've been there, done that. Car pooled with 3 others back in 1999. It worked for ~3 months considering we were relatively junior in the organization then. It did save a lot of money.

Why did it not work beyond that? Erratic work schedules for one of us would cause the entire plan to crash. Mornings to work would still be fine but the evenings would be crazy.

The prime reason of flexibility for which many of us drive to work rather than take company transport goes out the window. And as long as we can afford our justifications of flexibility, car pooling will not take off.

Why not take company transport (where provided) to use fuel prudently?

[mjothi]

I think car pooling is not ONLY to the IT guys where the time schedule is erratic. So many others too use cars, like school, collages, Banks, govt offices etc. Infact some of the Govt offices have quaters for their employees (RBI, DRDO etc etc..) and they do have a good common time schedule.
So, if these crowds can think of car pooling (or bike pooling...) then there still will be a lot of traffic reduction and optimum usage of oils.

Why not take company transport (where provided) to use fuel prudently?

This has the same drawback as normal car pooling. The cab I am registered always leaves at fixed time. So, not much use in my case.

[suman]

Originally Posted by hrag

I've been there, done that. Car pooled with 3 others back in 1999. It worked for ~3 months considering we were relatively junior in the organization then. It did save a lot of money.

Another very valid point - imagine a Manager & a Senior Director or a VP who live side by side. Hell imagine all three being neighbours. Can't ever see our schedules matching up. 60% of the time, the Manager ends up getting scr***d, the remaining 40% of the time, the other two do.

Originally Posted by hrag

The prime reason of flexibility for which many of us drive to work rather than take company transport goes out the window. And as long as we can afford our justifications of flexibility, car pooling will not take off.

Couldn't have put it any better

Originally Posted by mjothi

I think car pooling is not ONLY to the IT guys where the time schedule is erratic.

Errrr mate, there are industries other than IT too where timings are erratic you know

[supremeBaleno]

If the sole reason a guy gets delayed in the evenings is due to telecons, can't they be done in the car itself ? Say, the plan is to leave at 7PM in the evening, but one of the guys has a call from 7 - 8PM. Let the other guy do the driving, roll up the windows with a/c on and take the call. What better place than the middle row seats of a DICOR to have a telecon, eh ?

We used to face this problem as my colleague worked on a US project with calls always in the late evenings. I would drive (even if it was his car we came in that day), while he took the call in the car itself.