Wondering how much the others are paying for their gasoline ??

Country/Territory	USD $/Ltr	RM/Ltr	Date of price
Venezuela (Caracas)	0.05	0.16	1/12/2008
Turkmenistan	0.08	0.26	11/25/2006
Nigeria (Lagos)	0.10	0.32	3/13/2005
Iran	0.11	0.35	6/27/2008
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)	0.12	0.39	5/16/2007
Bahrain (Manama)	0.27	0.87	4/29/2008
Egypt (Cairo)	0.32	1.03	5/5/2008
UAE	0.37	1.19	5/27/2008
Brunei	0.39	1.26	6/5/2008
Trinidad and Tobago	0.48	1.55	5/26/2008
Mexico (Mexico City)	0.62	2.00	5/5/2007
Indonesia	0.65	2.09	6/19/2008
North Korea	0.71	2.29	2006-11
China	0.81	2.60	6/20/2008
Malaysia	0.84	2.70	6/5/2008
Russia (Moscow)	1.05	3.38	6/9/2008
Taiwan	1.05	3.38	6/8/2008
Pakistan	1.06	3.41	5/4/2008
Colombia	1.07	3.45	5/24/2008
Honduras	1.07	3.45	5/26/2008
United States	1.08	3.49	6/19/2008
Thailand	1.21	3.90	6/8/2008
Philippines (Cebu)	1.22	3.93	5/27/2008
South Africa	1.23	3.96	5/27/2008
Moldova (Chisinau)	1.24	3.99	6/20/2008
Chile	1.27	4.09	5/29/2008
Ukraine	1.33	4.28	6/1/2008
Canada	1.36	4.38	6/23/2008
India (NOIDA)	1.36	4.38	6/18/2008
Sri Lanka	1.46	4.70	6/8/2008
Dominican Republic	1.51	4.86	5/27/2008
Australia	1.52	4.89	6/25/2008
Brazil (São Paulo)	1.59	5.12	4/29/2008
Japan	1.60	5.15	6/16/2008
Singapore	1.60	5.15	5/22/2008
Uruguay (Montevideo)	1.60	5.15	1/12/2008
New Zealand	1.62	5.22	6/12/2008
Estonia	1.79	5.76	6/20/2008
Romania (Bucharest)	1.85	5.96	6/11/2008
Cyprus	1.87	6.02	6/7/2008
Slovenia	1.87	6.02	6/17/2008
Switzerland (Zurich)	1.88	6.05	5/28/2008
Croatia	1.95	6.28	6/24/2008
Greece	1.95	6.28	5/12/2008
Guatemala	1.95	6.28	5/12/2008
South Korea	1.95	6.28	2008-06
Hungary	1.99	6.39	5/15/2008
Poland (Krakow)	2.06	6.63	6/6/2008
Israel	2.10	6.76	5/31/2008
France	2.13	6.86	5/6/2008
Spain (Madrid)	2.14	6.89	6/20/2008
Hong Kong	2.20	7.08	6/6/2008
Monaco	2.20	7.08	5/6/2008
Iceland	2.25	7.25	5/27/2008
Sweden	2.30	7.41	5/22/2008
United Kingdom	2.31	7.44	6/15/2008
Italy	2.32	7.47	5/18/2008
Finland	2.35	7.57	5/28/2008
Denmark (Copenhagen)	2.46	7.92	5/28/2008
Belgium (Brussels)	2.48	7.99	6/20/2008
Eritrea	2.53	8.15	5/6/2008
Turkey	2.68	8.63	4/22/2008
Norway (Oslo)	2.73	8.79	6/25/2008
Sierra Leone	4.87	15.68	5/1/2008

How to Buy Gasoline

1. Buy gasoline during coolest time of day - early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Keep in mind - gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration. You are charged according to "volume of measurement".

2. Choose type and brand of gasoline carefully. Certain brands provide you with greater economy because of better quality. Use the brands which "seem" most beneficial.

Save money, ease jams, join a carpool

CARPOOLING seems to be a hot topic these days in Kuala Lumpur for various reasons.

It is also one of the strategic directions in the Draft Kuala Lumpur 2020 City Plan on building a more sustainable, integrated and environmentally friendly transport infrastructure in the city.

It is a measure to reduce Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOV) that travel with low efficiency and thus a contributor to congestion and green house gas emission.

The strategic measure suggests that to reduce SOV, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) could provide incentives to those who carpool, especially to employees of government agencies and major corporations in the city centre.

The incentives can also include subsidised parking for registered pool vehicles.

The suggestion also include awareness programme on the impact caused by commuting alone as compared to carpooling or taking public transportation into the city.

During a draft plan briefing session at the DBKL recently, consultant Norliza Hashim said by carpooling, the number of vehicles on the road could be successfully reduced up to 96%.

“Say 125,000 SOV vehicles switch to high occupancy vehicles like a bus where more than 25 persons travel in it, the number of vehicles on the road will be reduced to 5,000.

“If it's a low occupancy vehicle where more than three persons travel in the same vehicle, the number is reduced to 42,000 vehicles which is a reduction of 66%,” she said.

While it is still a strategy in the draft plan, some people have already resorted to carpooling due to the recent increase in the price of petrol.

One is Sohominium Sdn Bhd director Eric Lim who met up with some friends to form a carpooling group called Kuala Lumpur Rideshare.

The group which currently consists of seven members aims to encourage the carpooling culture among the citizens of Kuala Lumpur as a means to save money and ease traffic congestion in the city.

Lim said it was high time that people seriously considered carpooling since the public transportation in the city still needed upgrading to be more comprehensive.

Together to work: Office workers getting into a van at a parking lot in KL Sentral to be taken to their office in another part of the city.

Lim, who has been researching on carpooling systems in various countries for the last three years, said carpooling was environmentally friendly and with a proper web-based central monitoring system, it could be done effectively.

“People have been doing traditional carpooling among friends and colleagues in the past years in Kuala Lumpur and other parts of the country but not on a big scale like we are planning now,” he said.

He said the system would work best when there were incentives and premiums for those who carpool.

He said corporate companies could do their share of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to their employees by subscribing to the carpooling services.

“Some companies are already doing this on their own but they can also outsource the programmes to carpooling companies,” said Lim.

To ensure proper decorum is maintained in carpooling, Lim said certain etiquettes needed to be considered. These include insurance coverage, vehicle maintenance, back-up plans and the monetary aspect of it.

To kick-start, Lim said the group needs more members and volunteers to organise and coordinate the carpooling activities.

Source : The Star (24 June 2008)
by : JAYAGANDI JAYARAJ

Some like it, some just don’t

CARPOOLING may still be new to some but due to the drastic rise in petrol price two weeks ago, certain members of the community are forced to carpool again.

It may not be the most pleasant alternative to certain people but it surely helps in cutting down monthly allowance for fuel.

Getting started isn’t easy, as many of us still prefer driving ourselves because our work shifts and hours are usually different from others who live close to us.

More fun in a group: For college students, carpooling is a great way to save their pocket money.

“Staff members of a hotel, for instance, have different shifts and it is not easy to find colleagues who not only lives near you but also has the same working hours as mine,” said hotel communications manager Linda Evelyn Wong.

Project officer Gary Tan feels it saves him more time driving than relying on friends to carpool for the sake of saving fuel.

“Driving oneself around not only saves the trouble of others having to come and fetch you but also helps me manage my time better,” said Tan, 29, who has to juggle between his day job as well as coaching ice hockey in the night.

However the practice does seem to be an enjoyable one for those who have started early like Loh Ving Sung, 24.

Loh, who has been carpooling since his university days, says he opted to carpool as driving alone to class can be boring at times.

“I live in Cheras and the journey to Petaling Jaya every morning can take a while. My friends who live nearby felt the same too and that was when the decision to start carpooling began,” said Loh.

After classes the group will head out for lunches and tea breaks together before leaving for home.

Now Loh, who is working as a writer, said he still practices carpooling with his colleagues, as it is safer to travel in a group, too.

Sales executive George Lim, 28, agrees with Loh saying how exciting and fun it was to carpool especially for outings or just to go for movies and shopping.

“Travelling around in a group allows us to catch up with one another, sing and eat together in the car, even better when it helps save petrol and the environment too,” said Lim.

Source : The Star (24 June 2008)

By CHRISTINA LOW

Going public

Cardiologist Dr Ramesh Singh Veriah takes just 10 minutes driving from his home in Bangsar to his workplace at University Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Previously, the 5km journey took some 30 minutes.

Adam, from Pandan Indah, now arrives for work in Jalan Hang Tuah in the city centre 20 minutes early.

Like Ramesh and Adam, many drivers in the Klang Valley, Penang and other parts of the country are seeing less traffic following the June 5 fuel price hike.

> Kuala Lumpur City Hall recorded a drop of almost 12,000 cars entering the city daily a week after the fuel price hike;

> Queues at LRT stations are getting longer and car parks are bursting at the seams;

> A bus company in Putrajaya has recorded a 10% increase in the number of passengers;

> Daily traffic volume on the Penang Bridge has dropped by 7% from the previous daily volume of 67,000 vehicles;

> Sales of motorcycles have increased by up to 25%. Demand is higher than supply now; and

> More women are buying scooters

Source : The Star
Sunday June 22, 2008

Fewer motorists entering KL

KUALA LUMPUR: Fewer motorists have been driving into the city since fuel prices shot up early this month.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) recorded a 2% drop, according to statistics recorded by its Integrated Transport Information System.

Its Urban Transportation Department director Dr Leong Siew Mun noted an average 561,000 cars entering the city on a normal day in May, whereas its latest figures showed a 2% decrease.
“However, it is still too early to evaluate the impact of the fuel price hike on this aspect as the people are still adjusting to the new price,” he said.

On the other hand, RapidKL’s communications general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah said the company had observed an increase in the number of passengers on its bus and train networks following the fuel price increase.

He added that the company was conducting a proper study to find out the exact percentage of increase.

“The company would like to advise members of the public to take public transport to save cost. They can park their cars at the LRT stations, take a taxi or even cycle there,” he said.
Retiree K. H. Tham from Subang said that he and four of his friends had turned to the bus whenever they made trips into the city.

“We choose off-peak hours so there is not much inconvenience. The trip costs us RM4 each and we are applying for the senior citizen cards that give us a 50% discount.

“We usually need to wait 15 to 20 minutes for the bus to come. Whether or not this is acceptable is secondary, as I don’t think there’s a better option,” he said.

Bank executive Lim Mei Leng, who drives from Subang to Dang Wangi to work, said she and her colleagues were considering switching to public transport.

PLUS Expressways Bhd expects traffic volume to drop following the 41% hike in petrol prices but believes this is only temporary.

Traffic volume on the expressways recorded a strong growth of 7.7% last year and, according to PLUS chairman Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, growth for the first four months of this year was still high.

Source : The Star

By YIP YOKE TENG

Sunday June 22, 2008

Fuel economy: Save money on gas

The best way to burn less fuel is to buy a car that gets better gas mileage. But some tests conducted show there are ways to minimize what you spend at the pump with your current car.

Drive at a moderate speed. This is the biggest factor. You may have to be a little patient, but driving at 55 mph instead of 65 or 75 will save you money. When we increased the Camry's highway cruising speed from 55 mph to 65, the car's fuel economy dropped from 40 mpg to 35. Speeding up to 75 mph cost the car another 5 mpg. One reason is that aerodynamic drag increases exponentially the faster you drive; it simply takes more fuel to power the car through the air.

Drive smoothly. Avoid hard acceleration and braking whenever possible. In our tests, frequent bursts of acceleration and braking reduced the Camry's mileage by 2 to 3 mpg. Once up to speed on the highway, maintain a steady pace in top gear. Smooth acceleration, cornering, and braking also extend the life of the engine, transmission, brakes, and tires.

Reduce unnecessary drag. At highway speeds, more than 50 percent of engine power goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag. So don't carry things on top of your vehicle when you don't have to. Installing a large Thule Cascade 1700 car-top carrier on our Camry dropped its gas mileage from 35 mpg to 29 at 65 mph. Even driving with empty racks on the car reduces its fuel economy.

Don't use premium fuel if you don't have to. If your car specifies regular fuel, don't buy premium under the mistaken belief that your engine will run better. The only difference you'll see is about 20 cents more per gallon. Most cars are designed to run just fine on regular gasoline. Even many cars for which premium is recommended will run well on regular. We have found that the differences are imperceptible during normal driving. Check your owner's manual to find out if your engine really requires premium or if you can run on other grades.

Minimize driving with a cold engine. Engines run most efficiently when they're warm. In our city-driving tests, making multiple short trips and starting the engine from cold each time reduced fuel economy by almost 4 mpg. Engines also produce more pollution and wear faster when they're cold. When possible, combine several short trips into one so that the engine stays warm.

Keep tires properly inflated. The Camry experienced a 1.3 mpg loss in highway fuel economy when the tires were underinflated by 10 psi. More important, underinflated tires compromise handling and braking, and wear faster. And they run much hotter, which can lead to tire failure. Check the pressure of your vehicle's tires at least once a month with a tire gauge. The owner's manual explains how to do it.

Buy tires with lower rolling resistance. A tire's rolling resistance can add or detract another 1 or 2 mpg. In our tire ratings, look for high-rated tires with low rolling resistance. They generally won't cost more, and replacing a worn tire could save you more than $100 a year in fuel.

Avoid idling for long periods. Think of it this way: When you're idling, your car is getting zero miles per gallon. When we let a Buick Lucerne, with a V8, idle for 10 minutes while warming up, it burned about an eighth of a gallon of gas. A smaller engine would probably burn less, but idling still adds up over time. As a rule, turn off your engine if you expect to sit for more than about 30 seconds. An engine warms up faster as it's driven anyway.

source : http://www.consumerreports.org

Carpooling Made Easy

Have you ever noticed that every festive season in Kuala Lumpur, tens and thousands of people find it difficult to get transport to Balik Kampung?

The existing public transport system is just not sufficient to handle the demand.

But did you know of that during the same time approximately 200,000 passenger cars leave Kuala Lumpur either to the north or south and about 20% are Single Occupancy Vehicles, which means the car is empty except for the driver.

That means potentially there are 120,000 vacant seats going to the north and south of Peninsula Malaysia every holiday season (assuming one car can take 3 passengers).

Imagine if all those people who are struggling to find transport, so they can Balik Kampung to see their loved ones, had a way to access and share these unused seats.

Well the wait is over; Tune Travel provides a secure and easy way in which all Malaysians can create travel partnerships be it during festival Balik Kampung or carpooling to work everyday.

Think about it, a car with 2 people in it is twice as efficient, takes up much less road space, uses half the fuel and produces half the pollution as 2 cars with just one driver in each.

Already in Kuala Lumpur during peak hours, the Buses, the LRT, the KTM Commuter and the Roads are all full. So really the only remaining capacity is the empty seats in the Single Occupancy Vehicles that travel to the city everyday.

By creating travel partnerships such as carpooling, we all can save quite a lot of money especially with ever increasing petrol, toll and parking charges. (Check our ourwebsite www.tunetravel.com.my to see how much you can save).

Not only that, if more Malaysians carpool to work surely traffic congestion can be reduced and less time and fuel will be spent travelling to the office during peak hours.

And better yet the fewer cars on the road means less CO2 will be produced and that helps protect the environment as CO2 produced by vehicles is very damaging to the environment.

To illustrate, if you drive a 1.5 litre car 40km to and from work every day, you will produce approximately 2 tonnes of CO2 a year which needs approximately 800 tress to absorb and reconvert into O2 .

It is estimated that 1 tree produces enough O2 for 4 people to survive a year.

So fewer cars on the road, means less fuel used, less money spent, less time wasted, less traffic jams, less stress and more O2 for us to breath.

Imagine the difference we can make. To register please log on to our website at www.tunetravel.com.my

Oops ...This is Car in pool ....not Carpool..

Fuel price increases capped

PUTRAJAYA: There will be no further increase to the price of fuel in the country this year. This is despite the possibility of the global price of oil reaching US$200 (RM654) per barrel, as forecast by some analysts.

This latest decision by the Cabinet came on top of various measures announced on Monday to help the Government cut costs and channel more subsidies to low-income earners.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said to stem any more increase, the Government would have to think of alternative ways to finance its spending.

“Since the Government announced the new price last week, fuel prices have gone up to US$139 per barrel and is still hovering at US$130.

“In fact, the price of oil is expected to remain at high levels in the months to come. The high price of oil means that the market price of petrol at the pumps have now reached RM3.45 per litre,” he said, pointing out that the price should be reviewed to RM3.15 per litre (with a discount of 30 sen) instead of RM2.70 beginning next month.

“However, the Government realised that the rakyat is still trying to adapt to the higher petrol prices. The Cabinet has thus decided there will be no more increase this year,” he told reporters at his office yesterday.

If the global price of petrol should ever drop, Abdullah said the Government would make the necessary adjustments with the 30 sen discount still being given.
When announcing the new petrol price on June 4, Abdullah had said that prices at the petrol pump would be adjusted monthly to reflect the global market price.

The current price for petrol is RM2.70 per litre while diesel is sold at RM2.58 per litre, following an increase of 78 sen and RM1 per litre respectively last week.

Abdullah said it had also been decided that the more than one million civil servants would receive their salaries fortnightly effective August.
“The first instalment will be in the middle of the month while the second will be at the end of the month. Deductions such as income tax and Employees’ Provident Fund will be made from the second instalment.”

Source - The Star : By MAZWIN NIK ANIS and SIM LEOI LEOI

Prices of essential items to go up 10% next month

IPOH: Consumers can expect the prices of many essential items to increase by as much as 10% next month.

Federation of Sundry Goods Merchant Associations of Malaysia president Lean Hing Chuan said sundry store owners would have no choice but to raise the prices of goods not controlled by ceiling prices to survive the effects of the fuel price hike.

Lean said canned food and other items with plastic packaging were likely to be sold at a higher price but declined to disclose the actual list of goods.

“Goods transported long distance by lorries are also expected to increase by at least 10%,” he said on Sunday after the 87th anniversary luncheon of the Perak Sundry Shops Guild.

Earlier during his speech, Lean urged the Government to open up more vacant land for cultivation and have measures for rice-producing states like Kedah to improve rice production per hectare.

He also expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the government’s move to place colour stickers on rice sacks enabling consumers to differentiate between price-controlled rice and imported rice.

By CHRISTINA KOH

The Star 08/06/08

Petrol, power price rise effects begin to kick in

PETALING JAYA: The effects of the increase in fuel price and electricity tariffs have started to kick in.

Just a day after the announcement of the increases, the following developments have taken place:

• Bus and lorry companies announced that they are increasing charges or will be forced to stop services;
• The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers said its members will pass on any increase in costs to consumers;
  
• Hawkers and other food operators will wait and see before raising prices; and
  
• The KLCI closed 29.56 points down, to 1223.56 points. Plantation and banking counters as well as PLUS were the most affected.

Not all was gloomy, however. Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said he is looking at whether more reductions on road tax can be given.

Bus services may grind to a halt when quota runs out

PETALING JAYA: Stage and express buses may stop running in the last week of every month if operators do not receive more subsidised diesel supply under the fleet card system.

Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association president Datuk Ashfar Ali said although the system entitled them to diesel at RM1.43 a litre, supply was not enough.

“The amount we get is enough for about 70% of our operations. Unless we get at least 30% more, we are in trouble,” he told The Star.

Ashfar said operators used to absorb the price difference when the pump price was RM1.58 a litre but could not manage now that the price was increased to RM2.58 yesterday.

“My members are saying that when they run out of the diesel quota, they will stop operating until they receive the quota for the following month,” he said.

Ashfar added that bus companies also faced problems with some oil companies over the fleet card system as the rebate was not given instantly to operators, with some taking up to a month to do it.

Under the fleet card system, operators have the option of having post-paid or pre-paid accounts with oil companies.

On the seat belt ruling for bus passengers, he said operators were willing to absorb the cost of installing the belts but the Government had to provide the belts.

A check at Puduraya bus terminal revealed that some bus companies had raised fares by RM10.

According to a ticket seller who wished to remain anonymous, the company was charging more because of higher costs.

“Fuel prices should be the last thing to be raised. Now we are struggling to get by,” he said.

N. Mahalecumy, 21, a student, was shocked when the bus company she always travelled with increased the fare to Ipoh from RM13 to RM25.

When she refused to pay that price, the bus operator relented and sold her the ticket for RM14.

But there was a catch - she had to wait four hours for her bus to depart.

The Transport Ministry is studying the possibility of reducing road tax further

Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said he had asked the Road Transport Department (JPJ) to collate information on the revenue received from road taxes on various categories of vehicles.

He said he hoped that road tax could be reduced further after he passed on the details of the report to the Finance Ministry.

"Of course it depends on the overall and fiscal situation," he said Thursday after a working visit to MASKargo.

On Wednesday, the Government announced a RM200 reduction on road tax for private vehicles with an engine capacity above 2000cc, and a RM50 reduction on road tax for private motorcycles with an engine capacity above 250cc.

Also announced were rebates of RM625 per year for private vehicles with an engine capacity of 2000cc and below, and private pickup trucks and jeeps with an engine capacity of 2500cc and below.

Rebates of RM150 will be given to private motorcycles with an engine capacity of 250cc and below.

Asked if the public transportation would receive further subsidy following the fuel hike, Ong said the Cabinet Committee on Public Transportation would discuss it further.

"Of course, certain things have yet to be worked out. We will do it concertedly.

"Some of the input, initiatives and proposals will be discussed by the committee. At this juncture, it (public transport subsidy) is still open-ended," he said.

- The Star

PETROL TO COST RM 2.70

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday announced the new price for petrol is RM2.70 a litre, effective midnight tonight.
He announced that the price of petrol would be increased by 78sen and diesel by RM1.
The 40% increase in petrol price is part of the new fuel subsidy plan the Prime Minister announced at 5pm Wednesday.
The price of diesel goes up to RM2.58 from RM1.58.

The Star 2nd June 2008