Here’s the quick answer: Because we must.
Unlike the dark days of the pandemic, staying home is no longer an option to the millions of private car owners, most of them family breadwinners. When our public transport still leaves much to be desired, driving to work is pretty much like is a must, or we lose our jobs and starve.
Our cars driving seven days a week is a necessity.
We drive to work, to schools with our children, to stores for food and medicines, seven days a week. Our cars are our beasts of burden. Men and cars, they cannot afford to be sitting idle.
And with no end to the current problem in sight, we just have to endure.
I tried TNVS (Transportation Network Vehicle Service) during the brief car holiday last week to try and keep a normal home-work-home life. Needless to say, the current oil price crisis dominates our driver-passenger talks.
My six different TNVS rides said to drive or not to drive is not even a question. They must go out and burn fuels, steep prices or not.
We all agreed that in the absence of an immediate fix to the Middle East crisis, we can only adapt and rely on simple but wise hacks.
To my first driver, I showed my usual weekly 700-800 pesos diesel refill has woefully costed me P2,500 last Sunday in a Shell gas station in Kalaw St., Manila.
“Boss, tama yan, kahit mahal basta maganda sa makina ay pareho tayo nagkakarga sa Shell. Para sa amin mga drivers, importante ang choice mo sa gas at diesel para mas maganda takbo ng makina.”
Another driver offered me this: “Boss pag ang takbo ng makina mo ay smooth at efficient, para ka na ring nakatipid.”
The next driver mentioned he he uses Petron and sometimes Caltex, as both also offers tech-advanced and infused fuels, and then a stern caution: “Kahit mas mura sa ibang stations, boss, huwag ka magpakampante. Kapag mas mura, madalas hindi safe sa makina natin.”
I switched back to Shell V-Power diesel to my old, compact SUV, learning from a very costly mistake of using cheaper diesel during my penny-pinching, post-pandemic months. I had to replace some vital and expensive parts which died because, according to my mechanic, I “poisoned” my engine.
“Madaling masunog nag laman ng tangke kapag marumi gamit mo na fuel,” said my expert mechanic. “Mas mahal and Shell V-Power, pero may special additives na nakakatulong maglinis ng makina at mas efficient ang combustion kaya mas okay ang performance ng sasakyan.”
Photo below shows the receipt of my recent trip to a Shell gas station, along with a Shell Partner Card I forgot that I have for a long time — unused. I’m hoping to wisely manage my fuel spending in the coming months, and take advantage of the card which, among its features, has prepaid-like functionality for top-ups.
Like the other top gas companies, Shell, too, offers promos and discounts to help ease the pain of the soaring fuel prices, however small the treats. Better than nothing, I’d say.
Though we see no let-up in rising oil costs and the roads seem far and long before the light, we scrimp and save, and drive on as long as we can.
We will pay for the precious fuel and keep on driving, because we must.
