Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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Alex Cabrero Reporting"Gas is what it is man. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm biased. You gotta get around, you know."
Gas prices are on the rise again. The Energy Department says it expects the price of regular gasoline to average $2.62 a gallon this summer.
Gas in California is already selling for more than three dollars a gallon. And even though Utah is among the cheapest states for gas in the country, the thought of paying $3 a gallon isn't easy to get used to.
Not surprisingly, we couldn't find one person excited about higher gas prices as we drove around the valley today. Thing is, they're still higher than pre-Hurricane Katrina days, meaning, $1.50 to $1.70 a gallon, those days are probably gone.
Talk to Mike Johnson...
"I think it's ridiculous."
Jackson Ferguson...
"It drives me nuts."
...or Danny Trautman...
"They have you, one way or another."
Danny Trautman: "You don't have a choice. You either stop driving or you pay the money."
Mike Johnson: "We gotta have it. I've seen people put $2, $3 of gas in their car. How far is that going to get them?"
Right now in Salt Lake and Ogden, the average price for a gallon of gas is $2.29. In Provo, it's $2.30. The highest recorded price for Salt Lake and Ogden is $2.87, and in Provo is $2.89. Both of those hit right after Hurricane Katrina.
Jackson Ferguson: "You don't know how to budget for it. It keeps going up."
Maybe most frustrating for customers is they say there's no real reason as to why prices are going to be so high. Last year it was Hurricane Katrina. This year they just can't figure that out.
Mike Johnson: "The rich keep getting richer."
Oil companies did post record profits after Katrina, but Denise McCourt, director of the American Petroleum Institute who was in Salt Lake City today, says there are legitimate reasons as to why crude oil is costing so much.
Denise McCourt, American Petroleum Institute: "We see some tension in Nigeria. We see some tension in Iran. All these factors influence the price of crude oil. We have some changes in the gasoline mix, and that's also gonna impact the price at the pump."
Even still, drivers we spoke with say it really doesn't matter what the reason is.
Mike Johnson: "It's killing us, but we gotta have gas to get around."
Some drivers said they'd have to start taking the bus or use TRAX more often, but high gas prices also affects UTA. Last year, they budgeted about 5-million dollars for gas. This year, with all the increases we've seen, they had to budget 12 and a half million dollars, and are already getting close to it.
Next year, if prices soar during the summer as expected, UTA will have to take another look as to how they're going to afford to keep buses going like they are now.
Justin Jones, UTA: "When our fuel prices go up, unfortunately, it becomes harder for us to maintain the same level of services, and so we look at other things. We may have to look at some sort of fuel surcharge, or a fare increase, but we hope we don't have to."
Beginning next week, UTA will cut back on some bus routes to save money. They think it'll help save about a million dollars.
But with even higher gas prices coming, tough choices are in store for them and for all of us.
