'I'm trying not to drive as much as possible.' Californians are spending an average of $20 more than last year at this time to fill up their tanks, thanks to a number of factors affecting the drastically increasing price of gasoline.
An unfortunate trend continued Saturday, as gasoline prices around the Southland continued to jump based on a series of factors, including the ongoing War in Ukraine.
Over Friday and Saturday alone, prices per gallon have skyrocketed nearly 24 cents per gallon, and 37 cents from a week ago Saturday. For many Southern Californians, these suddenly soaring prices are literally life-changing. They’ve been forced to adapt their way of life, spending small amounts per trip to the grocery store, or leaving the car at home before running errands.“Whenever I’m out with friends, I never like to drive,” joked Elliott Morales. “I say, ‘Let’s take your car, your’s is a four-cylinder.”
Despite the light-heartedness Morales had in the face of this new gasoline crisis, the prices around the region have been no joke, as detailed by Doug Shupe of the Auto Club of Southern California.He continued to note that there really is no clear end in sight for the consistent increase in prices, and even though these changes are the result of many factors, it mainly relies on the price of crude oil and the Russian invasion into Ukraine.