Save money on gas with your smartphone: Talking Tech podcast
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Hey there listeners. It's Brett Molina. Welcome back to Talking Tech. You've probably noticed this when you have stopped by the gas station, prices are going up. National averages reached 3.42 a gallon as of Friday, with California stations charging a whopping $4.66 a gallon on average. This is according to data from AAA. So of course the big question is how do I save money on gas? Well, glad you asked if you're thinking about it. We have a story on this and you could read it on tech.usatoday.com. Smartphone apps that will help you save money on gas. There are five total in our story, but we'll just drop a couple here for you right now.
Let's start with Google Maps. One feature they have that's really great is they offer eco-friendly routes. With this model that focuses on consuming the least amount of fuel when you're on a drive, which of course, less fuel you use, the less money you'll be spending to refill your vehicle. The fuel efficient routes usually have fewer hills, they have less traffic and more constant speed. So a lot of that start-stop stuff, that will usually eat up the gas that we have filled in our tanks, you're going to save that. So it's nice to have, it's a fun feature, you'll see a little green leaf to give you a sense of this is the eco-friendly route. Very useful.
Another good app to consider GasBuddy. They have both an app and a website. It allows you to enter your location, the type of fuel, your payment method, any other info you need, and it'll show you the gas stations nearby, ordered from the least expensive to the most expensive.
Going back to some of these map apps, Waze. One of my personal favorites, I love Waze, I use it all the time. They actually have an option where you can find stations along your route. I've used this a couple times. It has been super helpful, especially if I've been somewhere that I'm not familiar with and I'm just trying to find the closest gas station that's got the best price. This feature allows you to search for gas stations while on your route to find the best price fuel. It also has info from community members that are sharing gas prices. So it's pretty robust. You have a lot of information. And again, I highly recommend this if say, you're traveling on the road, you're somewhere you're not familiar with. It's a great way to find gas stations and find the best price for you.
So obviously those are a couple different ways you can save money on gas. If you want to learn more about how to use your smartphone to save money at the pump, be sure to visit tech.usatoday.com. Listeners, let's hear from you. Do you have any comments, questions, or show ideas, any tech problems you want us to try to address? You can find me on Twitter at BrettMolina23. Please don't forget to subscribe and rate us or leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, anywhere you get your podcasts. And don't forget. Go to newsletters.usatoday.com. You can find the Talking Tech newsletter there. Subscribe, new ones come out every Thursday. You've been listening to Talking Tech, we'll be back tomorrow with another quick hit from the world of tech.