These days of continued high gasoline prices may tempt you to head for the nearest bus stop, but that might not protect your pocketbook much, according to the American Automobile Association.

The automobile consumer agency's annual driving costs analysis issued earlier this year found that for a mid-size sedan, about a quarter of the total cost of owning and operating a vehicle was for fuel - 15.5 cents of 62.4 cents per mile if you drive 10,000 miles a year.

Fuel is the most variable cost of owning and operating a vehicle - not only because prices fluctuate, but usage can swing widely, too. The more you drive, the more fuel you consume and thus the more you'll pay.

Other major costs of owning a car are largely fixed: insurance, taxes and registration, depreciation, car loan finance charges.

And because the bulk of the cost of owning and operating a vehicle is fixed, cutting your automotive expenses by trimming gasoline consumption means chipping away at 25 to 30 percent of your total costs.

The AAA's analysis is based on $2.405 per gallon gasoline, which was the nationwide average in late 2005 in the AAA's Fuel Gauge Report (www.fuelgaugereport.com).

Gasoline prices have soared since then, reaching a national average of $2.934 on Tuesday, raising the fuel component of that mid-size sedan's total expense to 18.9 cents a mile, and the total cost to 65.8 cents a mile for 10,000 miles.

In Abilene, the cost should be somewhat lower, according to AAA spokeswoman Marie Montgomery.

''Generally speaking, most communities in Texas are going to be lower than the national average,'' Montgomery said. ''Gas prices are generally lower than the national average.'' So is the cost of living, which translates into lower costs for such items as maintenance and repair because wages are lower, she said.

Car insurance costs tend to be lower in smaller cities and rural areas, said Jack Nerad spokesman for Kelley Blue Book ''The reason: fewer thefts and fewer multi-car accidents as the result of lighter traffic.''

Factors affecting new car prices, which drive annual depreciation costs, cut both ways, Nerad said.

''Dealers in small cities and rural areas might have significantly lower costs - land, physical plant, employee compensation - but that might be offset by lower potential sales volume,'' Nerad said.

About that bus-riding alternative: It's a viable option mainly if you rid yourself of a car and can make do without it, Montgomery said. Most costs of owning a vehicle are fixed, so the main savings in riding a bus would come in fuel costs.

In Abilene, for instance, the regular bus fare is $1 per trip. Someone who lives and works near enough to bus routes to ride every day would pay $480 for 240 workdays a year. The annual tab for driving to and from work, a 10-mile round trip, those same 240 days would be $360 for a vehicle that gets 20 miles in town from a gallon of gasoline that costs $3.

Gasoline would have to increase to $4 a gallon for fuel savings alone to equal the cost of bus fares for the same to-and-from work commute - assuming that city bus fares were kept the same. But because fuel is also a major cost of operating the bus system, a fare increase to pay for the fuel price hike might well be expected.

The fewer miles you get per gallon, or the more miles that you commute, the better bargain the bus would become. If you get only 10 miles per gallon for a 10-mile daily round-trip commute, your bus fare is covered anytime gasoline is above $2 a gallon. Someone eligible for a discounted bus fare, such as the 35-cent fare for patrons older than 65, would also save.

The major cost of owning and operating the car is depreciation, which reflects the initial purchase price minus its loss in value over time.

For its analysis, AAA assumes a vehicle will be driven 15,000 miles a year for five years. Stretching the same mileage over six years affects annual depreciation little, Montgomery said. Annually recurring expenses such as insurance and registration wouldn't change, though the consumption of items such as tires and fluids could be stretched out over that extra year.

On the Net

• 2006 edition of AAA's Your Driving Costs: www.aaanewsroom.net/Assets/Files/
  
  2006328951420.YourDrivingCosts2006.pdf

Stretch your automotive dollar

• Buy used. Let the initial owner, such as a business that regularly replaces low-mileage vehicles with new ones, absorb that steep initial hit of depreciation. Typically you can obtain the same warranty and extended warranty protection available to new car buyers.

• Drive it into the ground. If you own an old high-mileage vehicle that costs only a few hundred dollars a year in repairs, keep it as long as those repair bills stay low. In an analysis by AAA, even a small sedan depreciates about $2,500 a year over its first five years.

• Retrain and restrain your lead foot. Aggressive stop-and-go driving seems to be on the rise, particularly among young drivers, said AAA spokeswoman Marie Montgomery. A lighter touch on the pedal not only helps fuel economy, it reduces the risk of vehicular collisions, she said.

Source: American Automobile Association

Operating costs of a medium sedan

Per mile

Gas 9.8 cents

Maintenance 4.9 cents

Tires 0.8 cents

Cost per mile 15.5 cents

Ownership costs of a medium sedan

Per year

Full insurance $902

License, taxes, etc. $551

Depreciation

(15,000 miles annually) $3,449

Finance charge

(10% down, loan 6% for 5 years) $739

Total cost per year $5,642

Cost per mile for a medium sedan

Cost per mile for 15,000 miles $2,325

Ownership cost per year $7,967

Cost per mile 53.1 cents

Source: AAA

Driving Costs

Based on 15,000 miles per year

Model Per year Per mile

Small sedan $7,528 37.6 cents

Med. sedan $7,967 53.1 cents

Large sedan $9,283 61.9 cents

4WD SUV $9,805 65.4 cents

Minivan $8,878 59.2 cents

Source: AAA