Quick Route To Gas Price Shopping: Web

Paying $3 a gallon for gas is pretty common these days. That's why many motorists looking for new ways to save are turning to the Internet for help.

As AOL online adviser Regina Lewis explained Wednesday in "Pain at the Pump," a new series on The Early Show, drivers can cruise the information highway before hitting the road to ease the pinch at the pump a bit.

Among the sites Lewis cites: gaspricewatch.com, gasbuddy.com, and automotive.com.

"You can save more than a few pennies. You can save dollars in this game," Lewis told co-anchor Julie Chen.

Traffic of a different sort — Web traffic to these and similar sites — is increasing rapidly in light of the rise in gas prices, Lewis pointed out.

"Many of them saying their traffic has doubled," she said. "On gaspricewatch.com, there are 179,000 volunteer price spotters. It's like a game for them. They report in the prices that they're seeing in their area, (encompassing more than) 129,000 gas stations.

"This is really easy to do. Essentially, you type in your zip code, you select the radius that you're interested in, and it will tell you the best prices.

"You might think, 'How different can they really be?' But, going around the block, going half-a-mile out of your way can save you as much as 50 cents a gallon, which can really add up if you're commuting over the course of a week or going on a family road trip."

Lewis noted that she "did my car personally. So, let's say, 20 gallons. If I'm saving 50 cents by driving a quarter-mile, I'm just going to change my gas station one quarter mile, twice a week. That's $20 a week, almost $100 a month. Worth doing."

She continued, "You can contribute to gaspricewatch.com if you'd like to. It's really thorough. It's got a lot of depth to it. It's interesting. Right now, they give points to the people who are doing the price spotting. But directionally, they hope to have sponsors for that kind of thing."

"Moving forward, this is the kind of thing that will be integrated into your car's GPS, so you can literally ask and be (told): 'You might not get off this exit. Go to the next one, because they have better prices.'

"I think a lot of people in this industry have a vested interest in making sure consumers get the best prices, because it's clear from the Internet traffic they're certainly looking for them."

Another site: gasbuddycom. Says Lewis, "This one's fun. It's very map-driven. In technology terms, it's called a "mash up," meaning it mashes up data, gas prices with maps, and it's easy for people to use because (they have maps with) color coding of various prices."

Gasbuddy.com relies on spotters but, adds Lewis, "They also get prices from gas stations directly. And that's the other trend here. Manufacturers are now saying, 'Hey, listen, we'll give you the prices.' It's just interesting to me, not knowing a ton about the oil business, but the prices really do vary, and they can vary literally across the street, one station to another."

Also: Automotives.Com: "Same game," says Lewis. "This one is sponsored by automobile companies, so you'll see a lot of up-selling here. A lot of information on fuel-efficient cars. Highly-sponsored site, but along the same lines."