Five ways to beat the petrol hike

Petrol prices went up by a considerable amount post Wednesday, and this has been the biggest hike in the last ten years. These prices have reached such a level that now your car’s drink costs a lot more than your own! While everybody is finding ways and means to counter this insanely high pricing, we’ve come up with our version of ridiculous cool ways to tackle the problem. Read on…

Work from home via VPN
Virtual Private Networks have converged the world together by bringing offices and work places closer than ever. You can be in different parts of the country (or even the world!), but still be a part of a secure environment with full accessibility to all your stuff. It may not be an alternative for everybody, but for those who do have an option, it’s definitely convenient. Creating a VPN is a fairly easy job as well and you can simply use How - to guides available online, if you don’t have it set up already. 

The advantage is quite apparent - Not travelling gives you more time for productivity. For those of you who have to spend a ridiculously long time travelling to and from your work place, this is definitely a viable alternative. Also, the increase in petrol prices doesn’t really mean the traffic on the road will be any less, so either way it’s a good time + cost saver. 

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Cycle short distances, public transport
Have a short errand to run? Going to the gym? Going to the store? Ditch the car and cycle there! And if you don’t have a cycle, then walk it up. There’s no better alternative than to get fitter along with saving some precious cash you’d otherwise spend on that drop of fuel! If cycling isn’t your forte, don’t worry the other alternative is - get a bus. Public transport is a lot, lot cheaper than private transport and with the current state of traffic, chances are you won’t reach much later using the bus. Another brilliant alternative is carpool. People wanting to reach the same destination can share transportation making it cost effective for the whole bunch.

Get it!

Keeping this in mind, there are a couple of apps that could help you as well. Apps like M-indicator, MeterUp help you find the buses that can take you to your destination from your current location, rates by cabs and even routes for trains. If you don’t have an alternative and have to compulsorily drive your car, use the Mileage counter or Fuel counter app so you know when your car’s not giving you the same average and keep a track of your expenditure.

Try ditching the car and go mobile because remember, there’s always an alternative.

Simple maintenance tips
So, you just can’t skip the car, we get it. Here are a few tips from our in-house pundit that could help boost your car’s efficiency.

Tweak it!

Keep your tyres well inflated - Regular checks at the petrol station can help checking tyre pressure. 
Avoid overspeeding - Don’t zoom around in your car, keep the speed moderate.
Keep it light - Don’t carry unnecessary weight in the boot of your car.
Ditch the AC - roll down your windows and get some fresh air! However, if you’re travelling at high speeds, roll up the windows to give you a better mileage.

Convert to CNG
The ‘if-all-else-fails’ the solution to rise in cost of petrol is to switch over to CNG. A lot of people have qualms over switching to CNG because of the initial costs. Yes, they’re quite a bit but if you’re planning to keep your car for quite a period of time (it’s not a phone, right?), it’s a cheap investment. With Govt approved CNG kit vendors everywhere, getting your car to switch over to CNG is pretty easy. The cost of refueling CNG is significantly lesser than petrol and you’ll end up saving a lot more over a period of time. The taxi wallahs already switched a long time back, the question is, when are you?

So, that’s our list of things we’re gonna try, to beat the petrol hike madness. What about you? Let us know your tips, thoughts and more in the comments section below.