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CALIFORNIA DRIVERS ARE PAYING 31 CENTS ABOVE NATIONAL AVERAGE
By Kellie Schmitt Mercury News Pradeep Belur took the plunge on Sunday: He logged on to www.gasbuddy.com for the first time to shop for cheaper gasoline prices. ``Definitely, I've started to feel the pain,'' Belur said. As gas prices climb to record highs nationwide, consumers are thinking twice before heading to the pump. And nowhere is the surge being felt more than California, where a gallon of regular averages $2.72 -- the highest in the country and 31 cents more than the national average, according to the American Automobile Association. ``These are the highest prices recorded in virtually every community,'' said Sean Comey, spokesman for AAA of Northern California. Crude oil traded at a record $66.86 a barrel Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and Comey said anxiety about the future of oil-producing countries is driving prices up. Meanwhile, summer road trips are keeping demand high, with the busy Labor Day weekend still to come. There could be relief after the holiday, though, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country. Prices should soften assuming oil prices hold stable and refinery activity and shipments aren't interrupted by natural disasters, such as major hurricanes, he said. The latest numbers have California's statewide average surpassing Hawaii, which Comey said hardly ever happens. It's a long drive to the cheapest average gas prices in the United States: $2.26 in Knoxville, Tenn. San Jose's average on Friday was $2.72 and San Francisco's reached $2.79 -- both records. The state numbers are approaching even the inflation-adjusted records for 1981, when prices hit an all-time high of $3.08 a gallon, according to the California Energy Commission. ``You don't have time to blink before it's going to be $3 a gallon,'' said Palo Alto resident Cindy Carey, who pays about $50 to fill up her Jeep Cherokee. Some area stations, including several in San Francisco and one in Burlingame, already have surpassed the $3 mark. While that's happened before in remote areas statewide, Comey said, $3 a gallon in urban areas is a new thing. Diesel prices also are at record highs, with San Francisco averaging $3.13 and San Jose $3.09. It's hard to tell exactly where the priciest gas in the state is, because AAA only does comprehensive tracking monthly, but Comey said Eureka, South Lake Tahoe and Blythe usually are among the places with the most expensive gas. ``It's been going up every day, but people are dealing with it pretty well,'' said Maria Milke, the manager of EZ Stop Mobil in Blythe, where regular was selling at $2.95 Sunday. ``They have to buy it.'' In the Peninsula, a pricey stop for a fill-up is the Sharon Heights Shell in Menlo Park, where regular was going for $2.99 a gallon Sunday. That didn't stop Mike Cabot of Sunnyvale from spending $55 on gas for his BMW M5, although he did do a double-take when he saw the sign. Still, convenience won over, and he stopped at the station, just off Sand Hill Road near Interstate 280. Others say the prices are enough to change habits. Herb Marshall of Sunnyvale traded his Mercedes for a Volkswagen Golf about a year ago and said he now gets more than double the miles per gallon. And Eddie Knox of San Francisco is settling for mid-range gasoline instead of the premium he usually puts in his Infiniti. ``My pockets don't run that deep,'' Knox said. |