Gas prices are dropping, sure. But heck, I'll still travel an extra few miles to a station that lets me squeeze 10 cents off a gallon.
That's where MapQuest's Gas Prices, a gas portal comes in handy. Stick in your zip code or the nearest intersection, and you'll see a list of gas stations with the lowest (and highest) prices in your area.
The site lets you search on grades of gasoline, so you can skip past premium, for example. You can also filter on alternative energy sources, such as Biodiesel, electric, or hydrogen.
MapQuest claims that you can choose from gas prices at over 100,000 stations round the country (nope, I'm not going to try and verify the number).
I like the integration of the list of gas stations and the map. Hover over a name on the list and the purple icon on the map pops up showing the station's location. But navigating around on the map is torture -- it's slow and kludgy. (MapQuest, say hello to Google Maps.)
MapQuest's list of gas stations in Pacifica, California
MapQuest's map that corresponds to the list above
Need Gas? Ask a Buddy
Last year I wrote about Gas Buddy, a site similar to Mapquest's Gas Prices. (Read Use the Web to Find Cheap Gas.)
Overall, I prefer GasBuddy because it not only finds gas stations with low prices, it gives me additional charted data, such as Historical Gas Prices, average gas prices in the U.S. and Canada, and a map of gas prices around the country. For traveling, I use the Map Gas Prices for a specific area in order to get a quick look at stations with the cheapest gas. And GasBuddy also has maps.
Here's what GasBuddy's site looks like
What's Your Opinion?
Try them both and if you have a sec, let me know which of the two is easier to use, and which gives you the most comprehensive info.
