Sticking in the nozzle and clicking 87, upper class Bearcats and thousands across the nation watch in dread as the pump drains their pockets of their dollars. The tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the peelback of COVID-19 mandates, and a shortage of access to oil have all contributed to the exponentially increasing gas prices throughout the U.S.
Here in Paso Robles, some Bearcats, along with the rest of the city, have had to think more about their time at the pump and the price they’re paying to get around town. Senior Sydni Carr spends $200 a week on gas, spending a little less than half of her biweekly paycheck on her commute to school and work from her home in Shandon.
“If I didn’t need a truck, maybe I would switch to a more fuel-efficient car but with moving to a place where it snows for college, a truck would be more reliable,” Carr said, who drives an ‘06 Chevy.
The cheapest place to get regular gas in Paso is Wayside gas station on Creston, posting a price of 5.49 as of April 1st. Compared to other places, like Chevron at $6.39 or Mobil at $6.09, Wayside is well populated during open hours for good reason.
As of March 18th, the average gas price in the state of California was $5.80 for regular . A week prior to that, it was $5.72, and even a month back it was over a dollar cheaper at $4.728. San Luis Obispo County in itself is by far one the most expensive places to get gas in the nation, at an average of $6.04, the fourth most expensive in the state. SLO is even 50 cents more expensive than the high population of Los Angeles County.
California has the highest gas prices in the US, over a dollar more than the national average of $4.274. The state sees much pricier labels at the pump, due to state taxes, environmental laws and just the location. Californians pay 86.55 cents per gallon towards taxes, almost 30 cents more than the average of 57.09 cents across the nation. California also has a limited number of oil refineries due to environmental protection laws, and they all have to run at full capacity to keep up with the demand of the population, increasing the prices as oil is distributed. All of these factors contribute to California having the highest gas prices in the nation.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed a bill that would alleviate some of the struggles caused by the spike in gas prices. Regardless of income, Newsom wants to offer $400 to every person who owns a car, but only allowing a maximum of two cards to be given per household . He is also actively trying to halt the state’s gas tax increase that is set for July 1st.
Teachers are also greatly affected by the inflation, especially ones who live far out of Paso Robles and have to take a long route to PRHS.
“I use 90% of my gas towards my commute to school, because I rent on a ranch and never want to leave the beautiful property, unless something super cool is happening.” Kevin Kijewski said. Kijewski is an English teacher for freshman and sophomores at PRHS, and makes a 35 minute commute from his home in Adelaida to the school everyday.
Regardless of why prices are high or if the state is going to halt a further increase, Bearcats and the entire US is suffering from the surge. According to CBS News, gas prices will continue accelerating throughout April and remain stagnant during the summer months, but may not start dipping until late 2022.
