Annual Gasoline Price Post - 2026

We were visiting friends a couple of days ago in Family Park in New Cairo, about a twenty-five mile drive from our side of Cairo - and a world apart, culturally.  Life in New Cairo requires a car and the suburban lifestyle is far removed from the lingering ancient Egyptian life with donkey-carts, goats and live chicken markets that we love near the pyramids and tiny farms on the edge of Giza.  In this area there is no walking to the bakery and vegetable market and passing the tiny used car dealers, as in our part of town.  We passed IKEA, the Mirage Mall, the J W Marriott, the Mercedes and Audi dealerships along the Ring Road before nearing the airport and turning east toward the new Administrative Capital.  

We traveled both ways courtesy of inDrive, an "Uber-like" app on the phone that seems to have eclipsed Uber as the favored way to find a ride.  inDrive has much quicker availability of rides; I suspect that there must be a financial advantage for the drivers who seem to have quickly adopted it.

When we got into our driver's KIA for the return trip, I noticed his dashboard console was signaling "low tyre pressure," but that was no concern since tire repair and inflation shops abound in Egypt.  But soon, the "low fuel" indicator came on as well.  About 45 minutes into the ride as we neared our apartment, our driver exercised caution and pulled into a Mobil fuel plaza.  This gave me the opportunity to grab a picture of the fuel pump and prices.

 

I always like to capture an actual pump and maybe more for these gas price posts.  (see this post for a good example)  The price is uniform throughout the country and across companies as it is set by the central government which provides the subsidy to keep the price affordable. 

Gasoline prices continue to rise in Egypt. This year, the price of 92 octane petrol has reached 19.25 Egyptian Pounds (EGP) per liter. At the current exchange rate of about 47 EGP per US Dollar, that translates to $1.55 per gallon.

While that sounds like a bargain to the visiting American, consider the plight of an Egyptian driver who paid only 15.25 EGP per liter last year and sees this as a 26 percent increase. 

The next day, we passed an OLA Energy station near Sakaara with a nice sign displaying the prices of the low grade 80 octane and diesel alternatives.  On another day, our driver had a compressed natural gas (CNG) powered vehicle and refueled at the rate of 10 EGP (per cubic meter?) at a Gastec station on the edge of downtown Cairo.   

 

Here is my updated table of gasoline prices for 92 octane fuel over the past few years. 

	EGP	US $
Year	per liter	per gallon
2007	1.50	1.04
2011	1.42	0.93
2013	1.85	1.04
2014	1.85	1.01
2016	2.60	1.26
2017	3.50	0.74
2018	5.00	1.11
2019	6.75	1.46
2020	7.75	1.83
2021	COVID	COVID
2022	8.50	2.05
2023	9.25	1.19
2024	12.50	1.00
2025	15.25	1.15
2026	19.25	1.55

Notice that back in the "good old days" of 2007 it only took about one and a half EGP to buy a dollar versus the current 47!  That is a genuine "affordability crisis!"

 

 

 

   

 

Annual Gasoline Price Post

Annual report on gasoline prices in Egypt

Well, price not prices; the government sets the retail price and all stations charge the same amount. As usual we check the price of 92 octane, the grade used by the vast majority of motorists.

 

This year the price is up 22% over last year for the Egyptian motorist, rising from 12.5 EGP per liter to 15.25

Doing the conversion from Egyptian currency to US Dollars and liters to gallons we arrive at $1.15 per gallon. This is unlikely to garner much sympathy in the minds of Americans for the 22% increase.

 

Note that gasoline is pumped by a smiling attendant at the Taqa station where we stopped near our apartment to fill up our friend Roshdy's Toyota.  You might also note that he holds a wad of cash in his hand to provide change.

 

The window washing is not exactly a free service since the driver is expected to tip the employee doing the washing. I handed over a 20 pound note (about 40 cents) for the service, thinking back to "the good old days" when a 5 pound note would handle the job.

Below is a summary of  gasoline prices for the past few years.  In shows the relative stability of price in dollars as high inflation constantly hammers the local buyer.  The annual inflation rate in the Egyptian economy is about 24%.  (More details on that can be found here.)

 

 

		EGP	US$
Year		per liter	per gallon
2007		1.50	1.04
2011		1.42	0.93
2013		1.85	1.04
2014		1.85	1.01
2016		2.60	1.26
2017		3.50	0.74
2018		5.00	1.11
2019		6.75	1.46
2020		7.75	1.83
2021		COVID	COVID
2022		8.50	2.05
2023		9.25	1.19
2024		11.50	1.41
2024		11.50	1.09
2024		12.50	1.00
2025		15.25	1.15

 

 

Annual Gasoline Price Post

It was difficult, this year,  to put together my annual blog post on the price of gasoline.  I had the pictures of prices at the pump taken in early January showing the government mandated price of 11.5 Egyptian Pounds per liter.

 

But what should I use for the conversion of Egyptian Pounds to U.S. Dollars?  The official rate had remained at 30.85 EGP per USD since the previous year.  This was a valid number - it is what I would see if I used a credit card or withdrew money from an ATM.  But the "parallel market," as it was referred to in the local media (black market in U.S. media) was reportedly running at 40 to 1 - some reports said 50 to 1 - there was even a report in Barrons of 70 to 1, although I couldn't find anyone that had evidence of it happening.  

Rumors about imminent devaluation of the pound were flying - even that the pound would be allowed to float.

Finally, the devaluation came to pass on March 7.  The pound was free to float!  And it surfaced at about 48 EGP to the dollar before settling around 47.

 

So I planned for two entries on the annual chart.  Of course, in Egypt, plans change.  Just a few days after the pound was devalued, the government regulated price of gasoline changed.  Everyone's favorite 92 octane jumped from 11.5 EGP per liter to 12.5   Reports of the change quickly circulated on the media and Internet.

 

With all the calculations done, here is the bottom line:  The Egyptian motorist has seen the price of gasoline rise from 9.25 to 12.5 EGP  per liter - a whopping 35% over the past year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. observer of the scene has noticed that the price has fallen from $1.19 per gallon to $1.00 per gallon - almost a 16% decrease.

Yes.  Dollar a gallon gas has returned!

Here are some historic gas prices for as long as I have been keeping track - with three lines for the current year, 2024. (Prices shown in Egyptian Pound and U.S. Dollar equivalency)  Note that over the seventeen year period, the Egyptian prices has increased by a factor of 8 while the price in dollars has remained fairly constant.

	EGP	US $
Year	per liter	per gallon
2007	1.50	1.04
2011	1.42	0.93
2013	1.85	1.04
2014	1.85	1.01
2016	2.60	1.26
2017	3.50	0.74
2018	5.00	1.11
2019	6.75	1.46
2020	7.75	1.83
2021	COVID	COVID
2022	8.50	2.05
2023	9.25	1.19
2024 Jan	11.50	1.41 *1
2024 Jan	11.50	1.09
2024 Mar	12.50	1.00

*1 Price in U.S. Dollars at official rate vs. "parallel market" rate

When  we traveled to Minya by van, I noted the price of Solar (Diesel fuel.)  Selling for only 8.25 EGP per liter in January, it jumped 21% to 10 EGP per liter.  While only costing 80 cents a gallon on our scale, the 21% increase will ripple through the entire Egyptian economy.

A Week in Canada - The Price of Gasoline

We stopped for gasoline at 3 locations in Canada.  

Our first stop was at a station with a posted price of 165.9

 What on earth does that mean???

I sadly failed to take any pictures of the pumps and prices as I usually do in other countries.  Calculating the price per gallon requires a double conversion since prices were in Canadian dollars - worth about $0.75 U.S. - and the amount dispensed was in liters - I had been expecting the old 5 quart Imperial gallon, but, of course, Canada has gone all metric.

With all the math done, we paid a bargain basement $4.47 per gallon in Winnipeg at a discount station near the airport, and $4.64 - $4.71 out on the highways.  The prices are actually posted in Canadian pennies.  So, the sign advertising 165.9  means $1.659 per liter or $6.28 Canadian per gallon which is $4.71 U.S. Dollars per gallon.  

It was interesting to see that they have managed to preserve the "xxx.9" selling price concept even after changing to metric volumes.

You can click on the Gasolline Prices tag, in the sidebar, to see other gasoline price posts on this blog

  

Annual Gasoline Price Post - 2023

We pulled in at a gasoline station near the pet food store the other night to fill up with gas.  This year the price is up a bit to 9.25 Egyptian pounds per liter versus 8.50 EGP last year, a mild  9% increase.  There are many conversations here about inflation, citing  prices doubling such as eggs at 4 EGP each now versus 2 EGP a couple of years back.

The more startling change is at the bank or ATM where a dollar now buys almost 30 EGP versus 18 just a year ago.  I almost don't know quite what to plug into my calculation for the exchange of EGP per dollar, since the pound has fallen twice against the dollar since the first of the new year.  

 

 

 

If we go by the current rate, the equivalent U.S. price of gas is a remarkably low $1.19 per gallon.  Egypt is fortunate to have a healthy oil industry of its own and has been on track to achieve self-sufficiency this year.  This station on Mansourea Street has a large clientele of tuk-tuk drivers and motorcyclists buying the 80 octane product which is a bit cheaper, but I always base my comparisons on the 92 octane juice.

 

Here are some historic gas prices for as long as I have been keeping track. (Pound and dollar equivalency)

	EGP	US $
Year	per liter	per gallon
2007	1.50	1.04
2011	1.42	0.93
2013	1.85	1.04
2014	1.85	1.01
2016	2.60	1.26
2017	3.50	0.74
2018	5.00	1.11
2019	6.75	1.46
2020	7.75	1.83
2021	COVID	COVID
2022	8.50	2.05
2023	9.25	1.19

Annual Gasoline Price Post - and Other Economic News

Gasoline prices were on the rise again in Egypt at the start of the year.  When I arrived at the beginning of January, 92 octane gasoline was priced at 8.25 EGP per liter.  ($1.99 per gallon)    On January 24th, the price was raised to 8.50 EGP per liter ($2.05 per gallon) without warning, prompting much grumbling. The price is set by the government.

Our local Co-Op station down the block now has a new large electronic sign displaying the price.

 

More surprising was a sudden 14% devaluation of the Egyptian Pound a few days ago, which took it from 15.66 to the dollar down to 18.45 per dollar.  This, like anything else negative of recent note, was blamed on "Putin."  Perhaps anticipating further drops, there has been quite a bit of action at the ATMs in town as Egyptians are looking for a more stable spot for their savings  - perhaps gold?

 

 

With that devaluation, gasoline is now selling for the equivalent of $1.74 per gallon prompting no sympathy from us!

At the same time, the government set a fixed price on the price of unsubsidized bread:

The price of unsubsidized bread has jumped by as much as 25%, from 1.00 to 1.25 Egyptian pounds per round, in some bakeries in the three weeks since Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. Flour prices have risen by up to 15%, said Attia Hamad at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce.

The new fixed prices for flat, round balady bread have been set at 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 Egyptian pounds for loaves weighing 45, 65 and 90 grams respectively. Prices for 40, 60 and 80 gram small, white fino loaves were set at 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 Egyptian pounds respectively.

Violations of the fixed prices will result in fines between 100,000 and 5 million Egyptian pounds.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week asked the government to set a price for unsubsidized bread because of the recent price increases.

Will any of this affect the price of our bread sticks and lunch rolls? (see previous post)  Time will tell.

In other gas station news.

We stopped in at the gas station two days ago.  While the pump attendant was working, there was no one on duty to wash the windshield.  It turns out that he had come in to work but after an hour or so, found the temperature too cold to continue and went home. It was 64 degrees that morning. Are we sympathetic?

 

 

 

Annual Gasoline Price Post - 2020

The price of gasoline continues to increase in Egypt, much to the frustration of the country's motorists.  Over the past year the price per liter has increased almost 15% from 6.75 EGP to 7.75 EGP.

Where does that leave us in terms you can relate to?  The citizens of Cairo now must pay $1.83 per gallon.  I suppose most readers just lost their sympathy.   But look at it from the local point of view; in the last six years, prices have soared from 1.85 to 7.75

We stopped in at a station on Thursday and the first thing I noticed was some shiny new pumps.


We are buying the 92 octane gasoline on the right side.  That is slightly cheaper diesel on the left.

Gasoline sale is a cash business here.  While other attendants wash your windshield and perhaps even fill the tank, the head attendant looks after payment.  He always has plenty of cash in hand.  Yes, that is a bundle of cash in his hand.


This station is government owned but has the same prices as the Total, Mobil and other privately owned stations.  Some motorists prefer to patronize a line of military operated stations expecting higher quality of fuel but at the same government mandated price.

Here is a table of previous prices showing both the nominal price per liter on the pumps and the equivalent in US prices per gallon at that time.

	EGP	US$
Year	per liter	per gallon
2007	1.50	1.04
2011	1.42	0.93
2013	1.85	1.04
2014	1.85	1.01
2016	2.60	1.26
2017	3.50	0.74
2018	5.00	1.11
2019	6.75	1.46
2020	7.75	1.83

Since the Egyptian Pound has strengthened against the dollar over the past year - it now only takes 16 pounds to buy a dollar versus 17.5 a year ago - your humble tourist author has actually seen a 25% increase in price.

ATTENTION, NEW READERS.  If you check the bottom of this post, you will see a line marked "Labels:" - This post has two labels, Egypt and Gasoline Prices. Click on either of those and you will be taken to all of this blog's posts with the same label.

Annual Gasoline Price Post

The price for 92 octane gasolline (88 octane U.S) - also known as regular unleaded, rose from 5 EGP per liter to 6.75 EGP per liter over the past year.  Figuring in the current exchange rate of 17.5 EGP to the dollar gives us a price of:

$1.46 per gallon.

Prices are approaching "market level" - in fact they are now at market for Premium.

Here's the picture of a gas pump


and this is the typical staff - this pair is from the Taqa station just down the street - but the price is the same at all stations including the military-owned ones.


Typically there are two or three attendants taking care of each lane of cars, with one filling and the others washing or wiping the windshield.

Notice the wad of cash in the attendant's hand for payment and change.  Would this system work in your town?  I have never seen a credit card used at the pump here.

Annual Gasoline Price Post

We just returned from a four day outing to the Mediterranean coast with our friend and Egyptian guide, Rashid.  That seems like a perfect excuse to write the annual gasoline price post.  People here are talking about prices since inflation is definitely on the rise.

Just a couple of weeks after we arrived last month, one of my dear friends and contributors to the computer innovation in the early 1950s sent me this link to an article in The Economist decrying the market distortions caused by Egyptian government subsidies.  They are right, of course, and my friend recognizes market distortion when he sees it because he lives in Palo Alto where a "tear-down" house on a small lot goes for two or three million dollars and the buyers assemble two or three lots to put up a new place.

But, let's get to the price of gasoline.  Last year, fueling up with 92 octane cost 3.50 EGP per liter.  This year it is 5.00!


Even The Economist sees a glimmer of progress here in the form of reduced government subsidies:

Pressed by the IMF, the Sisi government is curbing some subsidies and shifting towards cash transfers. Fuel subsidies were 3.3% of GDP in the 2016/17 financial year, down from 5.9% when Mr Sisi took office—a big shift.

The reality is, though, that 5.00 EGP per liter is still just $1.11 per gallon - and I don't think many people reading this post will offer sympathy.

But The Economist was hot on another issue too.  Water!

Water is probably the most sensitive commodity of all. Ever larger numbers of Egyptians cluster around the Nile, tapping its waters for their crops, factories and homes. The country’s population is expected to grow from 99m to 120m by 2030. Pricing water properly would encourage conservation. Instead, Egypt allows farmers to take water for nothing, paying only the cost of pumping it. Urbanites are supposed to pay small fees, but these often go uncollected. As a result, Egyptians waste torrents of water growing rice, hosing down pavements and failing to recycle. “We have to dig deeper and deeper to get water,” says Abdel-Fattah, a farmer. “I’m worried, and anyone who says he’s not worried about water is lying.”

After four days on the road, one of them spent partially in the clutches of a small Khamaseen (dust storm), Rashid's car was in need of a clean-up.  At our last rest stop on the return to Cairo,  these two fellows washed and rinsed us back to clean.


I just missed getting a picture of them throwing two five-gallon buckets of water over the top of the car for a final rinse.

Price for the wash was negotiated up front with payment due after completion.  Rashid never read "The Art of the Deal," but he was willing to walk away if he didn't get the wash for twenty pounds ($1.17) - most patrons here were paying thirty.  Always negotiate hard in this country.!

Annual Gasoline Price Post

We pulled in at the local government owned Co-Op station to fill up a friend's gas tank the other day and I got out to take a picture of the price at the pump.


I did a rough calculation - 92 Egyptian pounds to fill the tank. - each of those 100 pound notes in my pocket is worth about $5.  What???  Where are we? Wonderland?

I soon discovered that the high price of gas has driven my friend over the edge and into the Dark Side.  He has downgraded his purchases from 92 octane to 85 - the people's choice - the fuel of the Russian Lada and other low performance vehicles.  But modern cars apparently adapt fine to this mixture.

The price of 92 octane gasoline, equivalent to the regular unleaded stuff we use back home, has almost doubled over the past two years from 1.85 per liter to 3.50 per liter.  This is more than enough motivation to move to the 85 octane at the government stations priced at a more tolerable 2.35

Of course, this price increase is more than offset to an American by the decrease in value of the Egyptian Pound which has slipped precipitously against the dollar since it was allowed to "float" last November.


Here are the prices for 92 octane "Regular Unleaded" over the past few years in both local and U.S. currency.

	EGP	$
Year	per litre	per gallon
2007	1.50	1.04
2011	1.42	0.93
2013	1.85	1.04
2014	1.85	1.01
2016	2.60	1.26
2017	3.50	0.74

Pity the Italians who are paying ten times as much, about $7 per gallon.

By the way, confidence in the Egyptian Pound must be rising.  Bank interest rates have fallen from 20% down to 16% - although I understand you can still get 20% at the post office.  (At the post office?  Yes, everything is different here.)

 

Annual Gasoline Price Update

The price of 92 octane gasoline - that's the regular stuff for Toyotas, Kias and Chevrolets - has now risen to 2.60 EGP per liter.  That is the equivalent of about $1.26 per gallon - not too far away from Minnesota prices when we left home.

For the local Cairo driver, the price has risen from 1.85 to 2.60 over the last two years.  Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar has gone from buying 6.96 Egyptian Pounds to 7.84 EGP at official exchange rates.

Of course, everyone here figures the exchange rate at 10 EGP to the dollar.  That is what the word on the street is for the black market rate.  Except, they say, no one is getting it because the government cracked down on all the black market currency manipulation and put ten big traders in jail.  This is classic Cairo rumor-mongering!  But if someone would give you the black market rate, it would be ten.

And here is the obligatory pump picture for the post.  This was taken at a Total station near the Cairo-Alexandria Road toll-plaza.  What a nice clean modern station and pump. So modern and clean that when Linda returned from using the inside facilities she was waxing eloquent about its modernity.


Here are pictures from a more typical Mobil station near the Citadel.  I hate the modern digital camera viewfinder where you can't see the image in the sunlight and have no idea what the picture looks like until you are back in the shade.

Where on Earth Are the Sawyers?

I've been asked a couple of times recently why our travel blog seems stuck on April.  It has been almost four months since I posted anything so I had better do an update.

First, let's cover Egypt.  Several people were surprised to hear that we were in Cairo again this past winter, with all "that's going on over there."  When I follow up to try and find out "what's going on there," I don't get much clarification.  Whatever it is, I know it's not like Chicago!  Consider these headlines:

• Fourth of July weekend toll: 82 shot, 14 of them fatally, in Chicago
  or, more recently,
  
• 47 shot. 5 dead. Chicago officials meet

and yet I know lots of people who wouldn't hesitate to attend a convention or baseball game in Chicago.

Here's what's been happening lately in Cairo.  There was a presidential election, and General Sisi won 97 percent of the vote.  Sisi swore in his new cabinet and went to work.  Hightlight from this story:

... el-Sissi asked ministers to be in their offices by 7 a.m. each work day.

7 a.m.?  Anyone that knows Egyptian bureacracy will recognize that as real change.

Next, the government raised the price of gasoline and other auto fuels from 40 to 175 percent.  Whoa!  175 percent?  Well, that was the special case of the natural gas powered vehicles.  My last post on gas prices was here.  And don't get too sympathetic toward the residents.  The low grade gasoline (80 octane) only went up from 49 cents per gallon to about 85 cents per gallon.  I am anxious to get back to Egypt this winter and see how that was received.

Electricity is still in short supply.  (The government raised the price of that heavily subsidized commodity too.)  This recent article in the Egypt Independent features a photo of barbering by candlelight.   

If you are interested in an update on more of what has happened in the area since the "Arab Spring," this report from Michael Totten gives an excellent picture.

Fuel Price Update

When I showed the price of gasoline in a previous post, I was talking about 92 Octane, the type of fuel used in most of our friends cars.  There is cheaper gas - and there is diesel.  We visited Alexandria a few days ago and traveled in a van that ran on diesel.  Filling up on the return trip, I discovered that it sells for 1.10 Egyptian Pounds per liter.  That equates to 60 cents per gallon.  But that is not the cheapest option.  80 octane gasoline, which will run your old Russian Lada - or a surprising number of newer vehicles too goes for 0.90 EGP per liter which equates to 49 cents per gallon.  Here is the diesel pump and price. - Also a representative old Lada still on the road.



While we were stopped, I took a picture of this over-the-road trucker who was fueling up next to us.  He has quite a kitchen setup in the metal box on the truck.  With the door folded down, he has room to sit in front of his small butane cook stove and make tea.

Say is that legal in the U. S.?  Or is there some prohibition against cooking over an open flame in the line to fuel up?  Well, at least diesel fuel isn't as volatile as gasoline, hamdela.

What's the Price of Gasoline in Cairo This Year?

And why does it matter?  We'll get to that shortly.

The pump price is 1.85 Egyptian Pounds per Liter and there is no shortage.



At today's exchange rate of 6.96 pounds to the dollar and 3.79 liters to the gallon we get $1.01 per gallon!  This is down slightly from last year, mostly due to the declining value of the Egyptian Pound.

Why does it matter?  I have talked to multiple friends who complain about the corruption in government and the billions of dollars that go into the pockets of the government officials or the military.  As it turns out, the Egyptian government spends fully 20% of its budget (perhaps $7 billion, perhaps $17 billion per year) subsidizing the cost of energy.

People will talk of amounts less than a billion or even up to several billion going to political factions but I have yet to hear anyone criticizing the many billions that go into their gas tanks.

What's the Price of Gasoline in Tanzania?

What's the price of a gallon of gas?

That's always a popular question among traveling Americans.  No one remembers the price of a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread - but we all recall what we paid for gas last week!

Before answering, let's take a look at a gas station as we move by on the bus.


Most of the stations we saw follow the American model of gas pumps and convenience store.  But there is a lot more to notice in this picture.  This happens to be an eafco station.  That's the small local oil distributor, East African Fossils Co., Limited.  There are three different retail outlets on the first floor: an Eafco shop, a Mini-supermarket and a Gift Shop.  Most of the retail stores that I saw share three or four small shops in a single building.  The grates over the windows are typical.  I'd love to hold the iron bar concession in the country.

Note the water tank on the roof.  With electricity being somewhat unreliable, many businesses and higher end homes keep a tank on the roof to insure supply.  The red clay and slightly rusted metal roofs on the houses in the background are typical of the countryside.

Back to the question of gasoline prices.  They were pretty consistent around the area we saw, whether chalked onto boards or posted in plastic.


At 2141 Tanzanian Shillings per litre and the exchange rate of 1628 T.S per dollar, we get $4.98 per gallon. 

We were in a Safari-modified Range Rover during much of our driving tour.  Our driver filled up the tank with diesel and we watched the dials spin as the total came to 300,016 shillings.

What's the Price of Gasoline in Cairo?

For the good stuff, that is, 92 octane, you will pay 1.75 Egyptian pounds per liter.  That is up from 1.42 per liter two years ago.  At current exchange rates today's price translates to $1.01 per gallon.  Obviously, the Egyptian government provides a significant subsidy.   And that is about to change.

In April, the plan is to only allow 5 liters per day at the subsidized 1.75 price and to charge market prices beyond that.  This should turn out to be an interesting logistical problem!

From Lima to Kenosha - Jell-O With Whipped Cream

Today was "heartland" day on the trip home.

We stopped yesterday to spend the night in Lima, Ohio.  We had been coming west from Mount Gilead along U.S. 30 and "Miss Garmin's" instructions took us along Bluelick Road, Sugar Street and Bible Road to our hotel.

It was only when I sat down to blog tonight that I realized I should have taken a few pictures in Lima.  Lima has a current population of around 39,000.  The population had peaked at about 54,000 in 1970.  The drive along those back roads took us past a huge Ford Motor Company engine plant, the U.S. Plastic manufacturing facility (with a retail store) and, appropriately in the middle of those, the Lima Pallet Company.

But those manufacturing operations are just a shadow of Lima's past.  Lima was a railroading center.  The Wikipedia article on Lima notes the statistics for railroad operations:

In 1906, an average of 143 trains and 7,436 cars, carrying 223,080 tons of freight, passed through Lima every 24 hours. In addition, 49 steam and 28 electric trains landed passengers in Lima daily.

But trains didn't just pass through Lima.  Many of their locomotives were built there.  Continuing in the Wikipedia article:

A new "super power" design, introduced in 1925, enabled Lima to capture 20% of the national market for locomotives. The "super power" locomotive was created by mechanical engineer William E. Woodard. Designed to make more efficient use of steam at high speed, it became, in the words of railroad historian Eric Hirsimaki, "one of the most influential locomotives in the history of steam power." Later years saw the introduction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 2-6-6-6, one of the largest locomotives ever built, and the glamorous Southern Pacific "Daylights," designed to complement the Pacific Coast scenery.

Had I bothered to read this last night, you would be looking at a photo of the last steam locomotive built in Lima.  Instead, all I have to offer is this link to someone else's blog.

By early afternoon we had paid several tolls, passed through gritty Gary, Indiana, and passed under the sign that said,  “WELCOME TO CHICAGO -- RAHM EMANUEL, MAYOR”  The next hour was spent looking at traffic with the city as a backdrop. 


One of my sisters-in-law called us today and wondered if we were taking restaurant suggestions from Guy Fieri's, "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."  Well, no.  But what an excellent suggestion!  We immediately inserted the location of Franks Diner in Kenosha, Wisconsin, into Miss Garmin's memory bank.

While the temperature had been in the low 80's in Indiana and 70's in Chicago, it was only 46 degrees as we pulled up to the waterfront in Kenosha.  I was a bit frosted, too, by the $4.259 price of gasoline in Illinois so I waited until we hit the State Line Citgo station where I filled up the tank with $3.999 stuff.  Never thought I'd be happy to see $4 a gallon gas.

The view in Kenosha offered water, fog and ducks.  Quite a contrast to the Dan Ryan Expressway.



We drove up the beautiful Lakeshore Drive (or Lack-a-shore drive as Ms. Garmin pronounces it) to reach Frank's Diner but found it closed.  We would have to find another Diner or Dive.  


We soon located the nearby Marina Garden Restaurant.  The "COCKTAILS OPEN 24hr" sign suggested that it might qualify for Fieri's program. 



We had good food at reasonable prices.  Like many other seafood restaurants, especially on the Gulf Coast, they had several Greek meals on the menu.  Gyros and Spanakopita were both very tasty.  Service was very good.  And we knew that we were almost home.  This was Friday, and the special was AYCE fish fry.  And to top it off, check out the dessert options!

You know you must be in Wisconsin when ...

What's the Price of Gasoline in Romania?

I always like to check the price of fuel in any country that we visit.  The prices at this station are pretty typical.  The price is in LEU which is abbreviated as Ron.  No, I can't explain that.  LEU is the name on the currency but RON is what you frequently see on a price tag.  They are worth about 31 US cents at the moment.


Diesel and 95 octane both are selling for 5.53 Leu per Litre.  That equates to $6.60 per gallon.  That should make you feel better when you fill up next time.

So What's the Price of Gasoline in Europe?

Well, in Greece, as shown in the photo on the left, Gasoline goes for 1.588 Euro per liter. That works out to $8.11 per gallon. If you can get by on Diesel, that is only 1.418 Euro per liter. That is only $7.24 per gallon. Lord help you if you need Super Unleaded at $9.70 per gallon.


We have moved on now to Italy. Diesel, which is the fuel of choice here is only 1.333 Euro per liter, a pleasant $6.81 per gallon. Unleaded gasoline is 1.433 Euro per liter or $7.32 per gallon.


Quite a contrast to the $0.92 that Egyptians pay, isn't it?

The solution in Europe is obviously to use a smaller vehicle. Here are a couple of popular choices.

At The Gasoline Station

Many of the gasoline stations here have familiar names.

But one of the more popular brands seems to be the CO-OP.

 

And I couldn't help but notice that there are times when the local CO-OP station has very long lines - many of the vehicles being the older black and white taxis.  It took a while to find out why.

Gasoline here is available in 90, 92 and 95 octane ratings.  The 90 octane runs about 1.5 Egyptian pounds per liter.  (I say "about" because I have been told 1.3, 1.5 and 1.6 by friends in the past two weeks while a published report quoted 1.75 - nothing is black and white here except the taxis!) The prices are set by the government.  That translates to about $1.04 per gallon.  But there also is 80 octane gasoline available.  The price for that is only 1 Egyptian pound per liter or 70 cents per gallon.  CO-OP is one of the two government run suppliers for fuel.  When a batch of 80 octane is available, word gets around.

Aha!  That's why our taxi drivers frequently pull into a station and add gas.

This report from EgyptOil-Gas reports that current government subsidies for gasoline prices are running about a billion dollars a month.  This report from about a year ago says that 80-octane gasoline has increased to about a 45 percent share of the market.  Imagine that, subsidizing a product to keep the price low results in increased demand.  Who'da thunk it!

Of course, 80-octane gas might just blow the heads off any engine higher powered than a 1970 Russian Lada.  But that's probably best left for discussion on someone else's auto-blog.