Automobiles

Economy cars of course come to mind first for us frugal folk. Basics do seem to prevail in that the weight of the vehicle is the biggest influence on the energy consumption. Try using gasbuddy to find best fuel prices. I had heard one time from a mechanic, that are very expensive batteries in the new Hybrid cars. Batteries may not be so good for the environment when disposed of. During World War 2 gasifier vehicles that ran on wood were used in forest regions by some. However, by modifying  your own car to burn hydrogen you may save money in many cases. This HHO or hydrogen on demand technology is gaining popularity. It appears that the most important factor in finding a system is the volume of production. Also, newer systems may require a different electronic control chip to accommodate the exhaust sensors with Hydrogen. Hope to have more on this later after further research. The inventor Daniel Dingel in the Philippines modified a car to run on straight Hydrogen and there are video’s of the car in actual operation.

Ride Share or Car Pooling

In some countries there are even car share shelter stops and even traffic lanes to encourage this. When planning a trip, if you can announce you intentions on a ride share site or classifieds section, you may find passenger to help with fuel costs. Or you can watch these internet sites for cheap rides. Couple of well known paid ride share companies that compete with taxi service is Uber and Lyft. A popular vehicle rental by the hour is Zipcar.

Commuter Services

This is more common in higher populations and even necessary in big cities where there is a shortage of vehicle parking. A great way to save money if you live in a urban location. However, you may also spend time waiting on buses,or railway trains. More buses are now including a bicycle rack on them too! Taxi service is more likely faster with higher cost if you can locate one when you need them. To save money on taxis, in many counties you can travel in small groups or share taxi’s as they often charge by the mileage or time but not by the # of passengers.

Motorcycles and Mopeds

These definitely save fuel costs but have weather restrictions. Mopeds under 50cc’s will save more money as they are often not required to carry license and insurance as well. To improve on weather options, one can have a top put on these forms of transportation to stay dry and prevent sunburn. Hope to have more about how to put a top on these later. Also, trailers and side cars can be added for more capacity.

Motorized Bicycles

These are getting more popular as they fit into the same legal category in many places as mopeds do. However they are even more fuel efficient than mopeds and extremely easy to find a parking space on a bicycle rack. Most are built from kits. They get trough heavy traffic like a breeze. Hope to have more on this later.

Bicycles

Have been a very good fuel free way for many decades. So many to choose from!