Gas prices hit drivers’ wallets
As gasoline prices hit record highs over the weekend, area drivers are reluctantly pulling more and more money from wallets and purses to fuel up their vehicles. And with the holiday travel season now less than one week away, the pain at the pump is starting to take a bigger toll on local motorists.
According to the Associated Press, the average price of self-serve regular gasoline hit a record high of $3.196 Monday, rising more than 12 cents over the past two weeks.
Jodi Ganoe of Uniontown, who works as a receptionist in the city, said she travels an average of 15 to 20 miles daily, and noted that the increased gas prices have made her think twice before running an extra errand or doing something that involves driving.
Ganoe, who drives a Ford Explorer Sport pickup truck, said she spends between $45 and $65 a week to fill up her gas tank and added that just a year or two ago, it was costing her about $30 to $50 weekly for fuel.
Ganoe said she and her husband Don are combating the rising prices in several ways including using a fuel perks program through an area grocery store to save money.
“Everyone has to get groceries and we have been saving about 20 or 30 cents a gallon with the rewards program,” Ganoe said.
She said the family is also carpooling more, noting a recent trip to an area softball game. In the past her husband would have driven his pickup to the event and she would have taken hers. But last week, the whole family rode in her vehicle, Ganoe said.
And Ganoe said she is trimming back on travel plans with the high cost of fuel as well.
“We had a camping trip planned for this weekend in Somerset and now we aren’t going. We are finding things to do at home,” Ganoe said.
Prior to the last few weeks of record-breaking prices, the record high had stood at $3.03 per gallon set in August 2006.
The latest average price also surpassed the previous inflation-adjusted record of $3.15 per gallon in March 1981.
Nationwide, the lowest average price for regular fuel was $2.87 in Charleston, S.C., and the highest was in Chicago at $3.59 a gallon, the AP reported.
Doug Lafko of Ohiopyle said he logs more than 35,000 miles each year while traveling for his job with Dragger Services, a company that specializes in breathing apparatus and machines.
“I have really noticed the increase with driving for work,” Lafko said. “I have to fill up for about $60 every other day.”
Lafko said his company has discussed including a fuel charge in the future as gas prices continue to rise and said that he has taken steps in his personal life to try and cut gas costs.
Last year Lafko said he and his wife purchased a Toyota Yaris to help alleviate the financial crunch caused by rising fuel costs.
The small vehicle has become the family’s everyday vehicle, getting about 40 miles-per-gallon on the highway and saving a considerable amount of cash.
“The Yaris has been a real lifesaver for us,” Lafko said, noting that he and his wife – outside of work-related travel – drive about 240 miles each week. “It really helps for the short trips and the everyday stuff.”
For Perry Township Supervisor A.J. Boni and dozens of other local officials across the region, the spiking fuel costs are also a daily struggle.
“It is something we are really starting to watch,” Boni said Monday, noting that despite a large price break for the township, the rising costs are straining local municipal budgets.
“It affects us all the way around from lawn mowing to road projects,” Boni said. “The big thing is that it affects everyone because it is tax money being spent for the fuel. We are looking closer at it and if it gets to that $4 mark, there is definitely going to be an issue with the potential for scaling back plans for the township.”
Despite record fuel prices more Americans will travel by car over the Memorial Day holiday weekend than a year ago, according to a survey by travel agency AAA, the Associated Press reported.
However, AAA said travelers are planning to stay closer to home over the weekend.
Officials from AAA said that 38.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more, an increase of 1.7 percent from last year, with about 32.1 million of those travelers journeying by car, up 1.8 percent from last year.
Several local travel agencies said Monday that despite the high fuel costs, they have not seen a marked increase in planned travel by plane or other means.
Officials from AAA are offering several tips for motorists to try and use very last drop of a tank of gas including making sure tires are properly inflated and ensuring proper front suspension and steering alignment.
According to communications spokeswoman Bevi Powell, under inflated tires can increase fuel consumption by as much as 6 percent.
Additionally, Powell said AAA recommends changing motor oil as often as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer, checking to ensure air filters are unclogged and drive at or under the speed limit.
A clogged air filter can increase fuel consumption by up to 10 percent, Powell said.
Even with the tips, the mounting challenge of affording to travel has started to make people think of other ways to get around.
As for Ganoe, she said if prices keep climbing she might be forced to make a lifelong dream of owning an Italian motorized scooter a reality.
“I’ve always wanted a Vespa,” Ganoe said. “Now I wish I had one.”