Posted: 05/03/06

Paying at the pump
Gas prices are on the rise across the country

Ayla Klauzenberg | contributing writer
aklauzenberg@smcvt.edu

Anyone who has driven lately has noticed the unusually high price of gas.

Currently prices are hovering right under $3 per gallon in Vermont, and there seems to be no sign of a decline in the near future, according to Joe, the owner and operator of a local Citgo station, who only provided his first name.

St. Michael's College students, faculty, and staff staying on campus this summer, and those who live locally, may need to prepare for a long summer of lofty prices.

Are the high prices sticking around?

Joe says that the rise and fall of prices, “all depends upon supply and demand.” He says he predicts within 90 days gas prices will be in the mid $3 range.

He also says that there is no way to tell if the prices will peak or continue to rise at a steady rate because everything depends on supply.

“If there is a glut, then prices will go down,” he says.

The cost of gas can differ greatly from state to state because of the different state taxes that are placed on it.

“Every state has a different gas tax,” Joe says. “It’s higher right across the lake.”

St. Michael's sophomore Dave Adams drives his Ford Escort about three times a week to get to his job in downtown Burlington, and says that the high cost of gas has both positive and negative aspects.

“I think that financially it is a problem, but discouraging people to drive isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Adams says. “People should drive less anyway.”

Summer travel

St. Michael's first-year student Eric Westin says he is staying on campus this summer.

“I am working on the Fire and Rescue squad,” he says.

Westin drives a Toyota Rav 4, and drives “once every three days,” he says. “I’ve just never had any reason to drive a lot.”

However, Westin also says that he expects to be driving a lot more over the summer.

“I hope that they lower soon, because they are starting to get ridiculously high,” he says. “I won’t be taking any long road trips for a while if they keep rising.”

St. Michael's English professor Nick Clary says that his summer travel will stay the same, regardless of the prices. Clary lives in Essex Junction and drives a Saturn Ion.

“There is certain travel that I need to do,” he says. "When I leave in the morning it’s fairly early, so I can get [to St. Michael's] in about 15 minutes."

Getting ahead of the prices

Clary says that one of the ways he saves money on gas is by driving to work with his wife.

“My wife and I travel to campus together as often as we can, even though our schedules are not exactly the same,” Clary says. “That saves a bit. I’ve always been conscious of driving, but with these prices I can’t keep ahead of it."

Something is being done to help consumers, if only at the local level. Web sites such as Vermont Gas Prices provide information about gas prices. People can submit what the price is at any gas station in the state. The numbers are then posted in two lists: Lowest Regular Gas Prices in the Last 48 Hours and Highest Regular Gas Prices in the Last 48 Hours. There are also lists for the costs of diesel fuel.

Sites like this are helping Vermont consumers to become more involved in this major issue.

“When you enter a gas price into the above form, you are assisting the fight against high gasoline prices in Vermont. Together we can work to promote competition and drive down the retail price of gasoline,” according to Vermont Gas Prices Web site.

Another way to see the range of prices in the country as a whole is to visit the USA National Gas Temperature Map. This interactive map shows the “temperature” of the United States broken down by the county of each state. There is also a link to the current average price for gas around the country.