Photo: Adam LedererThe price of gasoline is currently outrageous in the Netherlands, about €1.60/liter (about $8.80 per U.S. gallon). What do residents do? They arbitrage, so that if they’re headed south they plan to drive through and fill up in Luxembourg, where the price is “only” about €1/liter. This is a bad idea, unless your trip would take you near there anyway. Also, because there are often long lines of liked-minded arbitrageurs waiting to fill up, this is a bad idea if your time is valuable. I would be happy to bet that you see relatively few Mercedes with Dutch plates filling up in Luxembourg, but lots of small VWs and other cars that cater to more middle-income drivers, those whose wage—and thus the value of whose time — is likely to be lower.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
I actually do not notice a lot of complaining about the gasoline price in the Netherlands; either people go to neighbour countries (especially Belgium) for cheaper gasoline or it isn’t even considered a real issue. The long distance commuters often can charge their employer per kilometer or use company cars. Also companies often facilitate using public transport or bikes. From a tax perspective, this is now purely considered income that is needed to cover government expenses; if we would use less gasoline, our government has to find other ways to get income (or better: spend a lot less, but that is a different topic
).
Additionally, I actually have not heard and cannot even imagine that people would spent 4-5 hours for driving to Luxembourg and back for just gasoline… Suppose a 60 liter tank would have a benefit of only 36 euros; while one have to drive 300-400 km (20-26 Euros for Luxembourg gasoline) even if you live in the south of NL. So Daniel, please don’t worry about the long lines in Luxembourg as they are not: I as middle-income driver will not spend 4 hours of my free (and so family\leisure) time to spend 10 Euros less
The price is €1.60/liter in Germany as well, it’ abot €1,45 in Austria.
It might be clever to realize… American gas prices are ridicolously cheap when you compare them to the majority European ones. It’s no wonder the average American car is something like 15 years behind in fuel efficency. On the long run it will be quite interresting to see for how long the US will be able to afford this kind of goverment accepted wasting of natural ressources.
Perhaps instead of comparing US/European gas prices, we should compare the cost of driving. If Europeans pay twice as much per gallon/liter, but drive cars with double the fuel economy, aren’t both paying the same amount to travel a given distance?
This is why gas prices don’t bother me much at all. My SUV-driving neighbors are currently paying about $26 to drive 100 miles (figuring 15 mpg @ $4/gal). I drive a Honda Insight, and pay less than $6 to go the same distance.
You can’t even do just that. You have to compare income levels. They actually get paid in Euros, not dollars. The price of almost everything against the dollar is higher there, but so are their incomes when compared to US incomes. 1.6 / liter is closer to $6 / gallon in comparison to wages.
Said it before and I’ll say it again: every time an American whines about high gas prices they prove themselves to be an idiot. Lot of idiots in the USA these days. If you think gas is too expensive get your fat butt out of the car and try walking or riding to the grocery store you lazy slobs. Looking at our skyrocketing obesity rates this would likely save us a lot of money on healthcare.
It’s not that simple. The urban infrastructure over most of the United States requires that we drive almost everywhere. Only some large metro areas have feasible public transit and zoning that would make “riding to the grocery store” possible. Even a large area like Los Angeles is largely impossible (if not extremely inefficient) to navigate without a car. True, in this sense we Americans have dug our own grave by choosing suburban sprawl over urban density, but we will be reliant on our cars for many more reasons than pure laziness.
I was once working on an island where there were only two gas stations. The prices they charged were astronomical compared to the mainland and so what I would do is fill up 1/4 of a tank or so of the expensive stuff to cover me until I went to the mainland and gave myself a full tank of cheaper fuel.
I met a bore at a party who bloviated about how…”When HE was young, gas costs 11 cents per gallon…and you could have a whole meal for 50 cents.: Well, it just the least interesting thing I can think of–comparing prices in different places or different times.
In the US we pay less for gas taxes and more cost elsewhere to support fleets of $2-billion bombers and $200 million fighter airplanes. In the meantime our leaders conspire with thugs to give us a reason to pay for a military.
Support Bradley Manning.
“I would be happy to bet that you see relatively few Mercedes with Dutch plates filling up in Luxembourg, but lots of small VWs and other cars that cater to more middle-income drivers, those whose wage—and thus the value of whose time — is likely to be lower.”
Can you please stop perpetrating this nonsense? Just because one’s salary is higher does not mean the value of their free time is greater. It’s simply not true.
Nothing a couple of wars can’t fix I’m sure.