Gas Pump Sticker Shock; Prices Soar Above $5 A Gallon In San Francisco Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- As the countdown to the Thanksgiving holiday winds down one thing has become very evident, your planned road trip is going to come with a stiff price tag this year.
According to California AAA, prices at the gas pumps in many San Francisco Bay Area communities soared over $5 a gallon and were inching higher every day.
On Wednesday night, the price of gallon of regular, unleaded gas at the Shell Station at Bryant and 4th St in San Francisco was posted at $5.85.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said the price at the pump was at least $1.30 higher than a year ago.
And Lundberg delivered even more stunning news for Bay Area residents, they were paying the most at the pump in the entire nation -- $4.77 per gallon. The lowest average was in Houston, at $2.98 per gallon.
Travel is continuing to rebound rapidly from the pandemic. Nationwide, AAA is projecting this Thanksgiving to be the third-busiest on record, with 53.4 million travelers expected compared to 56 million in 2019 and 53.7 million in 2018.
"Most travelers will go by automobile this Thanksgiving," said AAA spokesman Doug Shupe, who added most road trips will be 50 miles or farther.
According to Gasbuddy.com there were a few deals to be had.
At the Valero station on Whipple Ave. in Redwood City a gallon of regular unleaded was at $4.21. In Concord, the Bonfare on Grand was at $4.27. The ABC on Mission Ave in Hayward was at $4.29, the Smart Stop on San Pablo Ave. in Pinole was at $4.27 and the GO! GAS & Food on High St. in Oakland was at $4.19.
Not surprising to residents in San Francisco, the lines were even longer than normal at the Touchless Car Wash Gasoline on Oak St. where gasbuddy.com reported the price of a gallon of unleaded at $4.17.
Katie Cox was aghast when she gassed up her car at a station in Alamo on Wednesday.
"I literally was like, oh my gosh, it's almost five dollar a gallon. It's crazy," she said. "It makes you think twice about how much you're driving."
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas in California on Thursday morning was $4.647 up from $3.177 at the same time last year.