Gas Buddy app

[phonedroid]

Everybody has heard about the "gas buddy" app, right? I didn't until a few hours ago and I'm impressed. It goes like this, download the app, create a username and password (they want an email address but a confirming email was apparently not necessary). Then you have access to a google maps display with placemarks for all the gas station in the area. Their current price for gas is displayed on the placemark. Tap on the placemark and other pricing informtion may appear.

So how can the app know the current price? Those are reported by the people with accounts via the Gas buddy app. The report is time stamped and the user names of recent reporters are listed. On my commute route, which is 32 miles one way there are many gas stations. Most of them have price reports that are within an hour or two and there is more than one reporter listed on most of them. There are people reporting these prices as they pass by the stations, not just when they are buying gas. (The creators of gas buddy may offer participants some incentives for reporting prices. I haven't looked that that.)

I commute 360 miles a week, a lot of gas and a lot of money. There is no doubt the app will save me significant money and I plan to have some fun helping to keep the local market for gasoline disciplined.

 

[tcat007]

Definitely a great app. I have probably saved 10 cents per gallon on every fill up for the past 1.5 years with it. I have 3 favorite "home" and 3 favorite "work" stations, there is always one at least 10 cents less than the others.

 

[hstroph]

FYI, "Gas Buddy" is not "GasBuddy".

 

[kmf]

hstroph is correct. Two entirely different apps.

 

[phonedroid]

hstroph is correct. Two entirely different apps.

I see that. "gasbuddy" Two of us commute together so there is a copilot to spot stations and check accuray. In some parts of town prices are updated every hour or two. In other areas we pass through updates are much less often. The stystem seems to work. We arent shopping for lowest price only. How about a few good stations that are decently run, the pumps are fast, the card readers work, and prices fair. Gasbuddy is going to transform the retail gasoline business. I'm just not sure how. Tapping in price updates as you pass by then seeing them appear in the app is kind of fun.