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Bay Area gas prices soar as holiday travel season nears

By George Avalos

gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com

Gasoline prices have rocketed to all-time highs in the Bay Area and California, dealing motorists an economic jolt as they approach the starting line for holiday trips.

“The prices are crazy. They are ridiculous,” said Ricky Vera, a Fremont resident who was filling up Monday at a gas station in his hometown at the corner of Warm Springs Boulevard and East Warren Avenue where a gallon of unleaded was going for $4.65. “I get gas here because I think they’re the cheapest prices in the East Bay. We have places in the Bay Area that are $5 for regular gasoline.”

In all three of the Bay Area’s major metro regions, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gas Monday rose to record highs, according to AAA.

A Chevron station on North First Street near Bayshore Freeway in San Jose shows the high cost for gas in the area on Monday.

SHAE HAMMOND — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Not quite 14 gallons of gas cost a customer nearly $65 at the pump Monday at an Andoil station on Ygnacio Valley Boulevard in Walnut Creek.

Gas prices are reaching an all-time high in the Bay Area and California.

JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER


In San Jose, average gas prices were $4.79 a gallon, up 46.6% from a year ago, according to AAA’s gasoline price survey website.

Oakland hit $4.78, its highest recorded average price, up 45% from the same day in 2020.

And in San Francisco, typically the most expensive of the major cities, the average price was $4.87 a gallon, up 42.9% from a year ago.

California hit its highest recorded average price Monday at $4.68 a gallon, up 47.8% from the same date last year to what’s now the most expensive statewide average in the nation, according to AAA.

The prices come as the state and nine-county region battle economic woes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and deal with inflation. In October, the Bay Area’s annual inflation rate hit a three-year high, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with increases in the costs of fuel and food leading the way.

“The price of crude oil has reached a seven-year high, the demand for oil has exploded, the price has exploded,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis with GasBuddy, an online site that tracks the gasoline sector. “That’s why gasoline prices are at a record high.”

Last year, oil production scaled back dramatically as demand evaporated starting in March 2020 due to coronavirus-linked business shutdowns. But in many areas, demand is now back to pre-pandemic levels, De Haan said.

Across the Bay Area, drivers are seeing the results.

Miguel Delgado, a 30-year-old father of two, said he’s racking up hundreds of dollars a week in gas bills during his commute from San Bernardino in Southern California to the Bay Area, where he is installing solar panels. He paid $4.85 a gallon to fill a Toyota Tundra truck and said the surging prices are taking a toll.

“That’s money we could be using for our fami-lies,” said Delgado, adding, “money is tight right now.”

That’s in part because inflation is rising at an annual pace of 3.8% in the Bay Area, which means just about everything seems to cost more than it did a year ago. Over the one-year period ended in October, used vehicle costs zoomed 25.6%, natural gas piped into homes hopped 21.7% higher, meat, poultry, fish and egg prices soared 13.6%, and electricity was 9.1% more expensive.

At a Mobil station in Oakland, Lynn Dolan was startled by what she spent on gas Monday. “I’m from Oregon, and I come down here and the prices are shocking,” said Dolan. “I’ve never spent 50 dollars to fill up my car.”

Paolo Caltagirone, of San Mateo, said he was shocked during a recent visit to Hawaii to see that gas was less expensive on the island than it was in the Bay Area. “I can’t believe how high the prices are here,” said Caltagirone, who thinks higher gas taxes are also playing a role.

An increase of about 6 cents a gallon in California gasoline taxes went into effect in July 2021, which means motorists are now paying 51 cents a gallon in state gas excise taxes, according to the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

For Californians and Bay Area residents, the average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the United States might seem like a pleasant fairy tale. The national average on Monday was $3.42, AAA reported. That’s far less than the highest recorded average of $4.11 back in 2008. But it’s up a head-spinning 60.6% compared to this time last year.

Vera, the Fremont resident, said he will do what he can to cope with the skyrocketing gasoline prices, but he isn’t planning to cut back on other costs. He’s just going to try to stretch those fill-ups out.

“I try to travel less,” Vera said. “I run as many errands as I can on one tank of gas.” Staff writer Eliyahu Kamisher contributed to this report.

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