Gas prices causing consumer cutbacks?

MONTROSE — The bottom line is thinning for consumers, but not everyone is changing their driving and spending ways to compensate for the loss — not yet anyway.

Although the majority of those interviewed by the Daily Press for the special report on the rising cost of gas, and all things dependent on it, say they’ve adjusted their ways, others say their habits remain unchanged.

A host of articles published in the last year suggest that — other than consolidating road trips — people seem to be trying to save money in other ways but are still driving about the same, said Rhonda Follman, Colorado State University family and consumer science agent in Grand Junction.

Surveys suggest people are also bypassing advice on how to cut fuel usage by changing driving behaviors. Common pointers include driving 5 miles slower and keeping vehicles in good repair.

Yet, “people still are driving the same speed” and they also don’t seem to be maintaining their cars either, she said.

Of those interviewed for this article, few mentioned changes in their shopping habits. However, consistent with what Follman has read, most people cited carpooling as their big adjustment.

“Everybody carpools now, instead of taking their own vehicles. You have to do it that way,” said 25-year-old Anthony Dowdy, who works in Telluride.

A part-time worker, Bonnie Kuchta, 65, said she “very definitely” cut down her driving and carpooling. “I’m not feeling so free to hop in the car and go for a little ride just to enjoy myself,” she said.

A handful of others say they have made not any changes at all. These were people who didn’t have to commute far to begin with — people like 42-year-old Lynn Neal and 22-year-old Dustin Fuchtman — or people who haven’t felt compelled to change.

“I’m an in-town dweller and I work at Northside (Elementary School), so I work just five blocks from school,” said Neal, an elementary school teacher. She said her family is riding their bikes more often, but that’s about all that’s different.

Melissa Trujillo, 39, also an elementary school teacher said she’s noticed all consumer goods getting increasingly expensive but her spending habits have stayed the same.

“I still feel like I’m buying just as many groceries and running just as many errands. I just have less at the end of the month,” she said.

Fuchtman drives a Toyota Yaris and gets about 40 miles per gallon. “So mine (habits) haven’t changed a whole lot because it doesn’t cost a whole lot for me to go anywhere really ... I actually drive more because I do deliveries here.”

Like commuting needs, economic circumstances seem to play a role in whether consumers actually alter their habits.

Fifty-year-old Lillian Smith, a disabled person on fixed income, said she’s hardly driving at all. She’s changed her ways because of gas prices, she said. “I use my handicap scooter to go everywhere. I go clear across town in it.” She also doesn’t get as many groceries as she used to.

In time, changes in consumer trends will become clearer. For now, all the data about shifts related to gas prices are anecdotal, Follman said.

“It takes awhile for trends like this to really resonate with people. If the price goes up and people fill their tank up once, it’s not a big deal. When the price goes up and stays up, over a period of time, then it starts to hit people in the pocketbook. They can do it once or twice but if it stays up there...”

Contact Lisa Huynh via email at lisah@montrosepress.com