Gas Prices

The cost of fuel has gone up .04 per gallon nationwide this week. So why has it gone up by .20 here in Phoenix?

Don't believe me? Get out your gas receipts. Last Wednesday, I paid $1.64. I was going to stop for gas yesterday (my normal gas station was $1.79), but I had more than a quarter tank so decided to wait. This morning, the price was $1.84.

So why, when in past years Phoenix gas prices have typically been a few cents below the national average, are we suddenly impacted by rising costs in California?

Between the September 11 scares and our burst pipeline debacle, I think the gas suppliers discovered that people in the Phoenix area will pay just about whatever they want to charge for gas without skipping a beat. Now, they will take advantage of any chance they have to rape our wallets for more cash.

As someone who commutes more than 20 miles to work each day, I'm feeling the increase. I find myself looking on the internet for sites posting the cheapest gas prices in town. If it were feasible for me to carpool, I would do so, but working slightly off-hours and having to drive to school three nights a week, it would be difficult to find a suitable carpool buddy. Public transportation in Phoenix absolutely sucks, so that's not an option.

Our legislation has investigated fuel suppliers on more than one occasion to find evidence of price gauging. Both times they ruled there was nothing to support the complaints. Personally, I'm not buying it, but short of finding a job closer to home or buying an electric car, there isn't much I can do about it.

Well, off to Sam's Club (to fill my tank).

Posted by geekchik at February 24, 2004 11:51 AM