Conserving fuel to stretch your fuel dollar and to be environmentally responsible is extremely important.

Listed below are more tips from Shell Canada on simple ways to increase fuel efficiency and save money at the pump:

• Keep your distance - If you keep your distance from the car in front of you, you will avoid hard braking. Hard draking uses more fuel than smooth braking.
• Use air conditioning (and other electrical appliances) sparingly - Using air conditioning in the city can increate fuel consumption by 20%. On the highway you can use the flow-through ventilation. On city streets, open a window.
• Check the air filters - Replacing a clogged air filter can improve fuel economy by 10%
• Conserve momentum - Anticipate hills, traffic lights so you avoid hard braking and sudden stops.
• Avoid small fuel fills - Every time you open the fuel cap, fuel evaporates. Try to fill up when you're at a quarter tank.
• Perform a monthly check - If you can, check tire pressure, fluid leaks, fluid levels, cracked or loose hoses and wires, adequate braking efficiency and wheel alignment in between your regular checkups.

 

Conserving fuel to stretch your fuel dollar and to be environmentally responsible is extremely important.

Listed below are more tips from Shell Canada on simple ways to increase fuel efficiency and save money at the pump:

• Avoid excess weight - For every 100 lbs that you carry, fuel efficiency can drop by 1-2%. If you don't need to take things along with you, don't.
• Take the roof rack off - If you're not using your roof rack, remove it. In addition to the extra weight, it creates drag which reduces fuel efficiency by as much as 5%
• Use higher gears - A manual transmission is 10% more fuel efficient that automatic. The higher gear you drive in, the lower your engine speed which helps with fuel efficiency.
• Avoid rush hour - You'll spend less time in traffic and consume less fuel.
• Control emissions - If your vehicle stalls, or your exhaust contains blue or black smoke, service the emission control system. Fuel comsumption can improve by 15%
• Keep the windows closed - Open windows can slow you down and you may use more fuel to speed up.

Drivers everywhere are looking to get the most out of every tank of gasoline. Some people use alternative forms of transportation but there are lots of people who rely heavily on their cars on a daily basis. Conserving fuel to stretch your fuel dollar and to be environmentally responsible is extremely important.

Here are tips from Shell Canada on simple ways to increase fuel efficiency and save money at the pump:

• Drive smoothly - avoid quick acceleration or braking, it can use 33% more fuel
• Service your car regularly - a poorly maintained vehicle can increase fuel consumption by 50%
• Make sure tires are inflated properly - even under-inflation by 2% can reduce the tire's life by 6,500 km and fuel efficiency by 2%
• Use the correct grade of motor oil - it can help fuel efficiency by 2%. Try "energy conserving" motor oil
• Choose high-grade gasoline - carbon deposits can build up in engine components that can decrease power, performance and fuel efficiency
• Use cruise-control on highways - it can improve gasoline usage
• Avoid idling - you waste gas and go nowhere
  
• Avoid high speeds - the faster you go the more wind resistance there is and more fuel is consumed. Going from 100 to 120 km/h increases fuel consumption by 20%
• Plan your trips - you avoid multiple cold starts of the engine and combine errands into one trip
  

Clean Air Day is a celebration of environmentally-friendly activities that promote clean air and good health across Canada. It is a great opportunity to make environmentally-friendly lifestyle choices, for you, your family and your community. This year Clean Air Day is on Wednesday June 3rd.

The Transit will be free. Tell the driver it's Clean Air Day. There will be complimentary breakfast from 7:00 to 8:30 AM at Queensway, Orchard Park and Westbank Transit exchanges.

Choices made by businesses, communities and individuals can lead to meaningful reductions in air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

Tips to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions:

• Leave the car at home. Walk or bike for short trips;
  
• For longer trips, take the bus; one busload of passengers takes 40 vehicles off the road, saving 70,000 litres of fuel, 175 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and nine tonnes of pollutants per year.
• Don't idle your vehicles; Ten seconds of idling uses more fuel that restarting your engine and produces more air pollution
• Keep to the speed limit. Driving at 100 km/h burns 10 per cent more fuel than driving at 90 km/h. 
• On the highway, use cruise control to maintain a steady speed and reduce fuel consumption. 
• In the city, stop-and-go traffic means that your air conditioning can increase fuel consumption by as much as 20 per cent. At low city speeds, open windows can be a fuel-saving alternative.

 

The City of Kelowna in it's adoption of sustainable transportation practices, ranks in the Top 10 cities in Canada.

In the second annual Smart Transportation Ranking Report, put together by the UBC Sauder School of Business and Appleton Charitable Foundation, Kelowna placed 10th (out of 27 cities). It moved up 4 spots from last year.

The report looks at 17 indicators in four categories - air quality, public policy, transport policy and technology adoption. Kelowna has a green municipal fleet which includes 4 hybrid vehciles and 18 smart cars. It's one of 4 cities to have all it's transit buses running on alternative fuels.

Projects for sustainable transportation in 2009 include the expansion of Rapid Bus BC, a transit exchange in Rutland, the extension of Rails with Trails and 2 off-road cycling projects along the proposed Glenmore Bypass and Gordon Drive extension.

 

With gas prices higher than ever before and this being the busy season for summer travel, it may be a good time to offer tips to save at the pump.

The following tips provided by Ford, are geared towards driving behaviour and it can save you quite a bit. You can increase fuel-efficiency simply by changing your habits.

Ford calls it EcoDriving - because it is eco-nomical and eco-logical.

The tips are listed below:

• Maintain a steady speed; if you pump the accelerator often, more fuel is pumped into the engine. Use cruise control on the highways to maintain speed.
• Relax, because aggressive driving such as accelerating quickly or braking and also speeding can reduce gas mileage and wear out your tires and brakes.
• With newer vehicles there's no need to idle (warm-up the engine) - even in cold temperatures.
• Maintain good tire pressure, this alone can save you 3-4% in fuel.
• Service your vehicle at the recommended times - tune-up the engine, align the wheels, replace air filters
• Remove heavy and unncessary items from your car. This reduces the worl-load on the engine
• Use heating and air-conditioning wisely to reduce the load on the engine
• Have windows closed when travelling at high speeds
• Use the right oil  for your engine - there are good quality, energy conserving EC oils. They have a ECII symbol to indicate their fuel-efficiency.
• Plan your trips to reduce extra, unneeded trips
  

Source: Article titled "Tips to save gas costs"