Russian Invasion Reverberates At Bay Area Gas Pumps As Prices Surge Past $6 A Gallon
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) – The Russian invasion of Ukraine is reverberating at the gas pump. Gas prices surged around the Bay Area with many locations were well above $5.00 a gallon, with some were more than $6.00 this week, leading some residents to cut back on driving and limit their car use.
"I'm definitely driving less, yeah for sure, I'm walking places, riding my bike more, definitely only drive when it's necessary," Tomecko Hall said on Monday while pumping gas in San Francisco at a price of $6.31 per gallon.
It is a reminder why working from home has many advantages for other residents, even if they usually save money by driving a motorcycle compared to a standard vehicle. The rising prices all year have started to make a difference in monthly expenses.
Researchers have calculated that the amount of money spent on gas by Americans could almost double in 2022 versus the year before. This data comes as the national average for one gallon of gas passed its highest price point since 2008.
"This is the Bay Area, we are used to high gas prices but this is getting kind of ridiculous, hopefully it doesn't jump up to nine or ten dollars," said Wesley Addison, a motorcycle owner. "Hopefully these prices go down, let's just get these prices down."
"Since the beginning of the year, crude oil prices are up by $50 a barrel and that translates to about a $1.25 per gallon at the pump," said Faculty Director Severin Borenstein from the Energy Institute at Haas, UC Berkeley.
Borenstein says short of getting an electric car, the pain at the pump will continue for now but there are ways to drive down prices.
He explains, "So if you're really worried about these high prices of gasoline, then shop around. That has two effects. First of all you save money right away but secondly it puts pressure into he high priced stations to cut their price."
Visitors to California were among those shocked by the high prices at local gas stations. Some took photos on their phone when they saw prices above $6.00 at gas station in the city's SoMa neighborhood.
"I wanted to cry because I cannot afford it to be this much," said Mya Tracy, while spending a few days in the Bay Area before heading out of state.
Tracy lives in Ohio and remembers seeing the price around half the current cost back home.
"We parked our car and walked around the city instead of driving everywhere because I just don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for gas every time I buy it."
AAA warns the price is not likely to go down anytime soon as the cost of crude oil increases, which impacts 60 percent of what customers pay at the pump. Crude oil's price has doubled in price so the travel organization advises drivers to make sure their cars are functioning properly and to avoid speeding in order to reduce gas consumption.
"Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be any sort of relief in sight," said Aldo Vasquez, a spokesperson for AAA Northern California. "We can say as long as the price of crude oil goes up, we can anticipate these prices to continue to go up as well."
"I see it as people trying to capitalize on a global tragedy and it's just screwing regular people over who just need to get to where they got to go," said driver Nikki Millet.
While prices have been on the rise for some time, experts who follow the petroleum industry say the change in the past few days has been a dramatic increase because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Those tracking prices across the country say the significant jump we saw from last week could begin to slow down.
"Gas prices have absolutely exploded in the last week the national average up 48.3 cents a gallon from a week ago," said Patrick De Haan with GasBuddy. "I think the biggest of increases based on what I know at this moment I think are maybe behind of us."
GasBuddy reported the average price per gallon in California was $5.32, the highest in the nation. Residents filling up their tanks on Monday say they are prepared for the price to go up before it goes down, while some hope corporations or even the government will intervene if the cost gets even higher.
"I have, I have, and I'm afraid I think we will but hopefully it won't last long," Hall said about the possibility the Bay Area will see the price continue to rise past $7.00 in some locations.
Nikki Millett feels, "I see it as people trying to capitalize on a global tragedy and it's just screwing regular people over who just need to get to where they got to go."
Andrea Nakano contributed to this report.