GasBuddy Points You To Affordable Fuel

It doesn't matter if you're trucking, driving, motorcycling or even jogging (protein bar). When you're running low on fuel, finding a nearby gas station is of the utmost importance. If your petrol or electric-starved machine is boasting a warning light, the last thing you want is to find yourself stranded along the road in unfamiliar territory.

Enter GasBuddy. GasBuddy's simple and intuitive interface gets right to the point on startup. Tap the target (marked "Find Gas Near Me") and, assuming you're not without water in central Australia or following Ewan McGregor through Mongolia, you'll probably find your resupply nearby.

When you're budgeting a trip, keeping an eye on gas prices can make route planning a lot smarter. Their website offers a personal profile for local alerts and prizes. This helps keep track of stations you frequent.

GasBuddy isn't an activation-and-go system, however. Stop before you use it. My own geekery has yet to research a screen tap "get me to gas!" solution, though that's on the docket. If you're comparing routes, current gas prices can help you decide whether to chase distance or savings.

GasBuddy requires a bit of interaction as your priorities may be different per use. The app filters station results first by your preferred octane rating and then by either distance or cost. More extensive filters (under the "Filter" menu) allow for more specific requests. Regular, midgrade, premium, diesel, E85, propane, car wash, restaurant (tha heck?) ... the list goes on and no matter your choice, you can easily load it into your preferred navigation app.

‹›

1 of 5

GasBuddy is free, useful and most importantly, honest. Users crowdsource the reported prices by posting information to the site voluntarily. Up-to-date gas prices are the backbone of those crowd reports.

User reputation and popularity determine the reliability of each individual price report, much like on the Waze GPS platform.

Avoid getting stranded! Pay attention to that gas gauge or mileage meter and keep track of local fueling opportunities throughout your route. Awareness is everything in motorcycling. Well, that and pie. Awareness and pie are everything in motorcycling.

What Is YOUR Favorite Fuel Finding Smartphone App?

There are a lot of similar apps out there but we feel GasBuddy is the best. Which ones have you tried? What do you like about them and why? Your input is invited. Leave a comment and/or write an article!