San Luis Obispo County has the third-highest priced gas in the nation.
As of March 9, gas prices in the county are at $3.963, falling only behind (but nearly matching) San Francisco at $3.969 and Santa Barbara County at $3.964, according to an AAA report.
Liam Kilgallon, a former Cal Poly student, said he cannot believe the rapid rise in prices.
“It seems like the price goes up 5 cents every time I look,” Kilgallon said.
According to an AAA Fuel Gauge Report Overview by Avery Ash released March 7, the turmoil in Libya, as well as other Middle Eastern and North African countries, has caused the rapid rise. Libya reportedly “produces 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil — 2 percent of global oil consumption,” causing prices to rise in fear of a shortage, though this shortage has not happened yet. In the face of this crisis, some Americans are pushing for President Obama to dip into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), an emergency reserve of more than 720 million barrels for the United States.
Brittany Renfro, an English sophomore, said she tends to wait to get gas in cheaper areas, unless she’s forced to get gas in San Luis Obispo. Yet, the high prices have made her reconsider whether or not to drive around town, Renfro said.
“The gas prices really make me double think about if it is really necessary for me to drive someplace,” Renfro said. “But I do not think the gas (prices) will keep me from driving, unless they continue to rise.”
But not all feel the same way as Renfro. Kilgallon said even with the excess fuel cost, he will not stop driving. However, he said he is not excited about the price of an upcoming trip to San Diego, which also has a high average regular gas price of $3.946.
With the fear of a shortage, gas prices have risen all over the country, according to AAA. However, California and Hawaii currently have the highest state averages with $3.92 and $3.929, respectively, for regular gas. Wyoming has the cheapest regular gas average at $3.215. With the continuing unrest in the Middle East, the AAA Fuel Gage Report suggests those averages seem likely to continue increasing.
Cameron Simpson, an English junior, said he tries to avoid driving whenever possible. When he was forced to commute for work, the gas cost “really added up,” which even deterred him even further from driving now. Nevertheless, the relatively small size of San Luis Obispo makes driving around town not that bad, he said.
“As high as the gas prices are in SLO, I feel like all of the essentials are located close enough that it isn’t really that big of a deal,” Simpson said. “The easy access to public transit to and from campus also helps.”
Even the cheaper gas stations appear to have higher costs for drivers. In fact, Will Powers, a local resident, picketed the San Luis Obispo Costco in February, claiming they misrepresented their prices as the lowest in town. At the time, the gas prices were in the $3.30 to $3.40 range per gallon.
When it came down to it, Renfro said she had to weigh the price of having a car with the luxury of it, but decided to bring her car to campus.
“When I decided to have a car on campus, I knew that it would cost a great deal of money, but for me, the cost is outweighed by the freedom I get from having a car,” Renfro said.