So yesterday afternoon I hear on the radio that gas prices are on the way back up. This noon I’m at Costco and notice on their sign that the price there is $3.09.
Huh. That seems like a pretty fair price, and so even though I’m down only a quarter of a tank, I decide to fill up on the way out.
Right.
The lines at the pumps are almost back to the street! So much gas is flowing out of there that they have not one but two tankers pouring more in. Apparently everybody else has the same idea–grab it while the grabbing’s good–because nobody lingers long at the pump. In a couple of minutes the lady in front of me and I both pull into the shade and jump out of our cars.
The dog chariot only takes $20 worth, but the woman before me is done even quicker than I am. Shortly I’m cruising south on the freeway, headed for the Funny Farm.
Price at the two off-ramp stations: $3.23. Nice: a 14-cent savings!
But I figure gas stations along the freeway are always overpriced.
Approaching my neighborhood through the slum to the north, where prices should be lower, I spot the sign on the corner Circle K: $3.29!!!
Wow!
Though I’ve never bought gas at a Circle K, because at least around here they’re not the safest venues for a lone woman, I’ve noticed that sometimes they’re on the low end. But even at “convenience” prices: twenty cents a gallon more than Costco?
Mwa ha ha! I feel very smug.
Images:
Gasoline pump, Indiana. Derek Jensen. Public Domain.
Circle K, Japan. Artist’s name not given. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Gas here is $3.69. While we do have a gas tax, that’s still very high.
Yeah, we also have stiff gasoline and road taxes here, plus the usual 9.3% sales tax. And the price goes up seasonally when they add ethanol.
We were paying around that for a while…actually, I think it was up in the $3.80s not very long ago. It’s dropped quickly over the past few weeks. LOL! Enjoy it while you can, eh?
Our gas prices are significantly different between Costco and regular gas stations, too. But the wait, oh, it’s ALWAYS a quadruple line.
We were just in France and gas is over $2 per LITER. We had a teeny car and it cost over $100 to fill it up. Totally worth it, however.
Yup. When consumers have to pay something more like what gasoline actually costs to refine and transport, it’s a whole ‘nother world.
On the other hand, that other world has decent public transportation. Most of the time.
We just had an oil spill up in Wisconsin, according to my dad, so it shot up to probably about $3.59 here in the eastern part of Iowa. It’s one of those days I’m glad I’m back in the hub of academic suburbia where there’s bus service and I can just bike everywhere else. My parents are in the middle of nowhere (to me) and drive everywhere. It was about $3.29 prior to that, I think.
@ Kerry: In a big sprawling city like Phoenix, whose developers insensately modeled it after Los Angeles, no matter where you live you’re constantly driving, driving, driving. Tho’ my neighborhood has three grocery stores within walking distance, none of them are in safe areas. One, I won’t go into at all; two others I’ll patronize in a pinch, but you couldn’t get me to walk there for love nor money — it’s just too risky.
So I have to drive 3 1/2 miles to get to the nearest grocery where it’s safe to walk across the parking lot. Home Depot: about five miles away, maybe a little more. Nearest place to buy clothes: about 9 miles. Campus where I work: about 12 miles.
I always fill up at BJs using my parent’s membership card! Sometimes I save as much as a quarter per gallon!