City Preparedness for Higher Gas Prices

What do you think these 10 cities have in common?

Virginia Beach, VA
Forth Worth, TX
Nashville, TN
Arlington, TX
Jacksonville, FL
Indianapolis, IN
Memphis, TN
Louisville, KY
Tulsa, OK
Oklahoma City, OK

According to Common Current, a California-based economic sustainability group, these are the 10 major US cities least prepared for gas prices greater than $4/gallon. It turns out that residents of these cities are disproportionately prone to long solo work commutes by car.

How are high gas prices affecting your budget? Have you started to explore collaboration tools to reduce travel and control costs?

I ran the numbers on my own modest commute (less than 20 miles round-trip, 26 MPG, regular gas at a delightful $4.59/gallon here in the Bay Area) and found – when all car expenses are taken into account – that Cisco’s WebEx PCNow remote computer access software pays for itself when I telecommute just one day per month. (And that doesn’t even include what I save by eating lunch out of my own fridge.)

The ROI on other WebEx collaboration services that eliminate travel expenses is even higher.

What are your commute mitigation tools of choice? Are you spending more time collaborating online and less time in your car or in Seat 28F? Is $4.00/gallon your personal “tipping point” to alter your behavior?

David Bockian, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Cisco WebEx