Gas, jet fuel prices dropping in Bay Area, nationwide
SAN FRANCISCO - After months of increases, some costs associated with transportation -- namely fuel -- are finally starting to go down.
The average price for a gallon of regular gas in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, has dropped by more than $0.20 over the last week, and by more than $0.50 over the last month, according to AAA.
However, it is still hovering around $6.00 a gallon.
"Definitely not celebrating. Just breathing a little better," said Carlos Valenzuela, a rideshare driver. "It's incredibly sad to say oh look it's only $5.59 over here, and we're excited about it."
He hopes the prices continue to fall, as he spends the majority of his time on the road.
"Definitely like to see it going in that direction and we hope to see it keep going in that direction," he said.
Drivers aren't the only ones seeing a change at the pump. Airlines are as well, as the price of jet fuel is dropping.
On July 13, the price for a gallon of jet fuel was $3.58, according to the Argus Jet Fuel Index. On June 13, it was $4.23 a gallon, and on May 13, it was $4.63 a gallon.
But the cost of jet fuel has a marginal impact on the cost of airfare, according to Scott Keyes, the founder of Scott's Cheap Flights.
"This will probably shave off $5, $10, $15 off of a normal flight rather than adding the $5, $10, $15 to airfare that it had over the past few months," he said. "I don't think it's the primary reason why flights got really expensive over the past few months, nor is it the primary reason why airfare is starting to fall right now."
The price of airfare dropped 1.8% from May to June, according to the latest Consumer Price Index.
"Airfare has basically peaked and is starting to come back down, when it comes to average fares," Keyes said. "I think the prognosis for the next couple of months is airfare is going to continue to drop on average."
But like gas, airfare is still expensive. Elizabeth Shreve says her family used award miles for their trip to and from the Bay Area.
"The cost was pretty reasonable this time because we have points through American Airlines," she said. "If we hadn't, we would have paid out a lot more than normal, and we couldn't have afforded this trip."
