Skyrocketing Gas Prices Pushing Some Bay Area Residents to Change Habits
SAN MATEO (KPIX) -- Gas prices are soaring in part because of the Russian war on Ukraine, some people are now changing their habits to avoid filling the tank.
The sticker shock and bewilderment at the high gas prices all over the Bay Area isn't going away any time soon.
"Oh, it's expensive," said San Mateo resident Kim Lewis.
But now, some people have moved on to processing the situation, trying to better understand why it's happening and how they're going to deal with it.
"It just kind of hurts a little bit," said John Valencia, who lives in San Francisco. "Now that everyone is coming back into the office, it's going to be a little bit harder, because the demand for gas is going up."
Lewis is opting to use her feet more frequently these days, in an effort to avoid the roughly $6 per gallon price tag.
"I'm trying to walk more," she said. "I always thought $4 was kind of like, pushing it."
Valencia drives all over the Bay Area regularly.
"I go to the East Bay for family, I go to the Peninsula for work, and I live in San Francisco," he said.
He understands why he needs to pay more for gas because of sanctions imposed against Russia, but he isn't thrilled about it.
"Obviously, not satisfied. But understanding of the situation that we're currently in," Valencia said. "It's important to understand the overall context. But at the same time, everyone wants everything super cheap."
With higher gas prices, Flora Eskenazi has to pay much more for her helper to commute from the South Bay to San Mateo.
"I just am very sad, because it poses a problem. A big problem," Eskenazi said.
Peninsula resident Mike Partelow calls himself lucky.
"I can work from home, and I live in San Mateo and I can walk most places where I need to be," he said. "We're now actually talking about getting an electric car, to kind of remove ourselves from that worry altogether."
However considering the context of the situation, Partelow is okay filling up for a premium if it will ultimately help lead to peace.
"If I have to pay a little bit more at the pump so the world gets a little better, that seems like a pretty low price for me to pay," he said.
The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the Bay Area was about $5.67 on Tuesday, according to AAA figures.
The average price in San Francisco was $5.69 a gallon, while in Oakland it was $5.64. San Jose checked in at an average of $5.59 a gallon.