Lately, I’ve been trying to cut back on car gas consumption cost. Not that long ago, I would go to McDonald’s and order off of the dollar menu a few days a week, via the drive-thru line.
What I never thought about was the amount of gas I would waste waiting in that long line, not to mention the carbon emissions. Sometimes, the wait in line would take up to 10 minutes or longer. While it’s true that gas consumption when a car is running at idle is less than the gas consumption while driving, it’s still a waste of gas.
So after thinking about it, I decided that if I were going to a fast food restaurant for lunch, and the line was long, I’d stop and go in and order instead of wait in a long drive-thru line. Ironically (at least where I work), the lines inside the restaurant would be very short, and I actually could get my food more quickly by going in, than waiting in the drive-thru line.
That said, I have to admit, if it is raining hard or really cold outside, I still go through the drive-thru. I think every little bit helps though!
While this new way of buying lunch, might seem like it wouldn’t matter… it could be a huge both economically and environmentally if more people started doing the same thing. Gas wasted in drive-thru lines are one of the small costs that adds up, that nobody takes into account or even thinks of.
-MR
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I agree with you that not going through the drive through can save money and it is good for the environment as well.
Sometimes going through the drive through is a must if you are driving. The fast food joint I sometimes go to don’t have parking (common for DC) and you have no hope of street parking during the day time.