Gas is Still Too Cheap

I'm visiting friends in New Canaan, CT this weekend -- about 180 miles away. I once made the drive in two hours and 59 minutes, but really wanted to take the train this time, put my feet up, and read a book. Taking the train down would have been doable, but planning a round trip quickly revealed its impracticality. A roundtrip ticket on Amtrak could run me as much as $150 -- unless I want to catch a 4:30am return to Boston. I would also have to pay for parking and transportation to and from the lot. I looked at bus options; the infamous Fung Wah bus to NYC is only $10 each way but makes no stops in CT. Getting to and from Canal Street in lower Manhattan would have been a hassle, to say the least. Greyhound makes regular stops near New Canaan, but the ride to Boston can top six hours, costs $36, and would still leave me about an hour from home. So instead of all that I will drive my own car, pay no more than $20 each way for gas (even at $3.15 per gallon), and wonder at what price per barrel of oil we will truly test the limits of our demand elasticity.