Kyle residents discuss transportation

HAYS COUNTY — Once a small nation of horse and buggies and electric street carts, to a growing population and gas powered vehicles, now to hybrids and electric vehicles, the transportation options have changed over time. Transportation is part of life whether one chooses to walk or drive. For some, the choice is to walk and/or drive an electric or gasoline vehicle. There are some that prefer the traditional way of driving and there are some that are open to the idea of a new way of transportation.

For Kyle resident Xavier Banbury, it's about being energy efficient when purchasing a vehicle.

“Personally, as somebody who is a walker and lives close to a highway, I am aware of the turmoil that comes with automotive and the pollution. Even though [electric is] not a completely green alternative, I do recognize that it is a much more energy efficient and greener alternative than diesel," said Banbury.

Alternatively, an individual may decide gas or electric based on their individual, business or family needs. Keith Kneedland, who has his own landscaping business, explains why he prefers gas over electric.

“I use my vehicles for work, which includes towing trailers, hauling landscape material … Because of the type of industry that I’m in, I need reliable, consistent power. I need the hauling power. I need the torque. I need the horsepower. All that stuff is required by what I do in my industry,” said Kneedland.

Perhaps some may not have a preference for strictly all-electric or all-gas vehicles; their choice may be ethanol. According to the Department of Energy, depending on a person’s vehicle choice, there are multiple options to fuel: gasoline, electricity or ethanol.

“My dad has a Tahoe and my mom has a minivan. I remember my mom was driving her minivan just down the street and, apparently, she used the wrong kind of gas because her car only takes E85. She had to coast her car for the next mile and a half to a gas station because it was breaking down … I just feel like it's very cumbersome also, having to go to a different gas station all the time or having to build so many gas stations everywhere. I think that’s pretty annoying,” said Banbury.

The economics of owning a vehicle may be an added expense or a barrier for someone. For those who prefer gas powered vehicles, there are numerous  gas stations. However, for those who choose electric, the access to charging stations in Kyle is not as convenient. According to Google Maps, there are 22 gas stations in Kyle and three electric car charging stations.

There is more to owning a vehicle than just how one chooses to fuel or charge it. Another aspect of owning a vehicle is the maintenance, whether it be oil changes, tire rotations, wheel alignments or replacing a battery, brake pads or windshield fluids.

Kneedland suggested that driving gas or electric vehicles are both bad for the environment.

“Owning and driving electric is way cleaner. When it's time to dispose of the vehicle, I think it's six in one hand and half a dozen in the other … We are not putting a vapor in the sky, but we are leaking the acid back into the ground. We kill the ozone or we kill the soil,” said Kneedland.

No matter how an individual chooses to transport themselves, whether to walk or to drive a gas, ethanol or electric vehicle, getting to one's destination is a matter of choice based on individual lifestyle needs.