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There’s not much the Federal Reserve can do about gas prices, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week.
But there is something drivers can do about fighting gas prices. There are a number of free smartphone apps designed to help you save as many cents per gallon as you can.
I should preface this advice by saying that you should not use your smartphone while driving. It’s not only dangerous, it’s also against the law. Plan your route accordingly before you turn the key.
One app, GasBuddy (available for iPhone and Android), is an extention of GasBuddy.com, founded in 2000. It uses your phone’s location services to determine where you are and gives you prices at nearby gas stations, as updated by more than 5 million users nationwide.
When I pull it up on my iPhone in the Star-Advertiser newsroom, the GasBuddy app tells me that Lex Brodie’s has the cheapest regular gas at $4.36 a gallon, which is actually 2 cents off (it’s $4.38). The Lex Brodie’s price was last updated Wednesday, the app tells me.
However, the price for the Shell station on Ward Avenue was accurate, at $4.49, updated a mere seven minutes before I checked.
AAA’s TripTik app (iPhone, Android) shows the location of nearby gas stations on a map, which would make it easier for you to navigate. It also sorts results by distance.
The app supposedly is updated seven times a day, according to an story, but yesterday’s prices were, well, the previous day’s prices. Still, it’s worth a download because the app is free.
Gas Cubby (iPhone) will help track your gas mileage and vehicle maintenance. It can show how many miles per gallon your car is getting, how much the price of gas is and what service might cost.
Having a history of miles per gallon driven is a good way to gauge your driving efficiency.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Kapolei resident Jordan Chang’s Android app, Hawaii Traffic Cams, which pulls traffic camera images from the state’s GoAkamai.org website and offers almost minute-to-minute updates on how traffic looks around the island.
In addition, check out the Star-Advertiser’s traffic Twitter news feed, at twitter.com/StarAdvTraffic. It is updated constantly with information on stalled vehicles and traffic accidents, complete with locations and times.
Pair those two local tools with nationally developed applications, and you could be a real road warrior in the fight against climbing gas prices.
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Gene Park can be reached at gpark@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @GenePark.
