No Relief in Sight: High Gas Prices in California Likely to Linger
SAN JOSE (KPIX) -- California drivers are already paying the highest average cost of gas per gallon and now there's a warning from experts that there may be no relief at the pump in the near future.
"Unfortunately, California is the state with some of the highest prices in the nation and unfortunately, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but we don't see any relief in sight," said AAA spokesperson Aldo Vasquez.
The price of crude oil has been increasing for several months. In February, the national average for a gallon of gas surpassed the previous record high set in 2014. President Biden vowed to work on bringing down the price at the pump as the growing tension between Russia and Ukraine drove up the cost.
Vasquez says that, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the price of crude oil has increased even more and may not decline for the foreseeable future. Russia is one of the biggest oil producers in the world.
"Now if you add all the extra sanctions that are going to go in place, if there's bans on Russia's crude oil, you're going to feel it even more at the pump," Vasquez said.
As of Thursday, crude oil cost nearly $110 a barrel. In California, the average price for a regular gallon of gas stood at $4.94, according to AAA. An increase in demand is also driving up gas prices. Vasquez said more people are hitting the roads as the nation sees an ease on pandemic health restrictions.
At a gas station off Bascom Ave. in Campbell, regular gasoline was priced at $5.39 a gallon.
Marco Vargas, who said it now costs him up to $120 to fill up his truck's tank, took a look at the prices and got back in his truck. He refused to pay that amount at the pump.
"Go to another gas station," Vargas said.
Vanesa Meraz just moved to California from Arizona where gas prices are significantly lower. She said she had sticker-shock when she arrived.
"I just figured when I was driving on my way down here that it was just kind of, like, highway prices," Meraz said. "But once I got here, it just kept going up and up and up."
Vasquez said there are ways drivers can keep their vehicles from working harder and burning more gas than they should, including cleaning their cars so it's not weighed down, keeping fluids and air in tires at appropriate levels and being a good driver.
Vasquez said hard acceleration and braking are tough on cars and cause an increase in fuel consumption.
