Happy Taco Tuesday, folks. It’s time for gas price watch – our daily series where we track our collective pain at the pump.
I’ll start off with some decent news – prices are now slowly moving in the other direction. They had been going up over the past few days, but now they’re down nearly an entire cent as compared to yesterday. That means the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline now sits at $4.24, according to AAA gas price tracker. Okay, it isn’t a ton, but it is certainly better than the alternative of increasing by a cent. Keep in mind, that price is still down nearly 10 cents from the all-time high of $4.33.
We’ve reported before that several states have already suspended their gas taxes and others are considering following suit. However, there has been some pushback from – you guessed it – lobbyists.
“Construction and business groups are trying to hold back a wave of state and federal gas-tax decreases that they say could jeopardize much-needed road and bridge improvements, including projects to be funded by last year’s $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a letter sent to members of Congress on Monday and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, said it would reward lawmakers who oppose a federal gas-tax holiday with higher ratings from the business lobby group.
The chamber spent 20 years lobbying for a federal infusion of infrastructure spending like what President Biden put into law in November. But with midterm congressional elections and state races this fall, politicians are eager to show voters they are taking action to relieve motorists,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
They also report there is one industry that is really thriving in all of this – e-scooters are having a bit of a moment.
Sky-high gasoline prices, new commuting habits and a tough car-buying market are sending more people shopping for electric scooters.
Miami e-scooter marketplace and manufacturer Fluidfreeride has sold more than twice as many units this month compared with last, founder Julian Fernau says. Sales are 70% higher than in March 2021, he added, and website traffic is up about 30% since gasoline prices began to shoot up at the fastest rate on record earlier this month. At Bird, another manufacturer, sales have increased 60% and website traffic is up 30% during the same time, according to a spokeswoman.
Interest in e-scooters and similar e-bikes, which are just like the original versions only with a motor, has been rising for a couple of years, as supply issues have hurt car availability and commuting habits have changed during the pandemic. That interest has been supercharged more recently by pain at the pump. Some people have been thinking about buying an e-scooter for years; others had never even ridden before, but now say they want to scoot, instead of drive, to their office, grocery store or friends’ houses.”
Anyway, let’s take a look at today’s winners and losers of the gas price lottery.
Here is where you can find the highest average gas prices in the country in order of highest price for a gallon regular:
- California - $5.92 Regular | $6.12 Mid | $6.25 Premium | $6.44 Diesel
- Nevada - $5.26 Regular | $5.48 Mid | $5.68 Premium | $5.35 Diesel
- Hawaii - $5.15 Regular | $5.35 Mid | $5.59 Premium | $5.61 Diesel
- Washington - $4.74 Regular | $4.97 Mid | $5.14 Premium | $5.57 Diesel
- Alaska - $4.74 Regular | $4.92 Mid | $5.10 Premium | $5.18 Diesel
Here is the lowest average price of gasoline in the country in order of lowest price per gallon of regular:
- Missouri - $3.79 Regular | $4.05 Mid | $4.34 Premium | $4.74 Diesel
- Kansas - $3.80 Regular | $4.07 Mid | $4.33 Premium | $4.78 Diesel
- Oklahoma - $3.81 Regular | $4.10 Mid | $4.32 Premium | $4.77 Diesel
- Arkansas - $3.82 Regular | $4.13 Mid | $4.42 Premium | $4.84 Diesel
- Maryland - $3.82 Regular | $4.29 Mid | $4.56 Premium | $4.72 Diesel
See you all back here tomorrow for more of the same shared misery.