Gas prices fell for the 12th straight week from Oct. 12 to Oct.
18. Although Hollister’s prices remain inflated over nearby
towns
– Salinas currently averages $3.24 a gallon – they are down 36
cents a gallon here to $3.54 since the Free Lance reported Sept. 16
that average gas in this town was selling for $3.90.
HOLLISTER
Nationally, statewide, and in San Benito County, gas prices fell for the 12th straight week during the week of Oct. 12 to Oct. 18. Although Hollister’s prices remain inflated over nearby towns – Salinas currently averages $3.24 a gallon – they are down 36 cents a gallon here to $3.54 since the Free Lance reported Sept. 16 that average gas in this town was selling for $3.90.
The local effect of less expensive fuel is something on many people’s minds.
Matt Corwell of Hollister spoke to the Free Lance as he was filling up his Chevrolet Suburban at the Quik Stop on San Felipe Road.
“I had to just park this thing for six months,” he commented, shaking his head. “I don’t even want to tell you how much it cost to fill this beast up when gas was almost four bucks a gallon.”
Corwell went on to say that he bicycled around, using his wife’s Ford Focus whenever possible and added: “We tried to time fill-ups for when we would be out of Hollister.”
Nationally and statewide prices are down approximately the same amount, percentage wise, as they are here, with the national average currently at $2.92 and the state prices coming in at about $3.19.
You can expect that trend to continue, according to Matt Skryja, a AAA Northern California spokesman.
“It’s reasonable to expect the average retail gasoline price will keep dropping,” he said. “AAA projects that the nationwide average will drop near or below $3 per gallon by Thanksgiving.”
Skyrja went on to note that the drop in prices has not caused much of an increase in driving habits.
“We are seeing that drivers continue to condense trips, or eliminate them altogether. The current economic crunch is helping to dictate how consumers drive.”
Asked whether he could shed light on Hollister’s relatively higher fuel prices compared with surrounding areas, Skyrja had this to say.
“There are certain influences, such as being an isolated community, that may lead rural areas to pay more than a city, and largely populated areas do tend to have less expensive fuel, he said. “However, there are always exceptions and there are many factors involved.”
The spokesman gave the example of San Francisco, saying, “S.F. traditionally has among the highest prices in the state and they are not rural.”
Tiffany Motors has certainly felt the impact of both the high fuel costs and the recent reductions in prices due to the fact that they provide local schools with transportation.
“Oh it is a huge expense,” said Shelly Miller, manager of Tiffany Motors, which won a five-year contract to provide transportation in 2005 when fuel prices were much lower.
“We could ask for an increase in payments since the Consumer Price Index has changed so drastically since we won the contract,” continued Miller, “but we aren’t doing this to make a lot of money.”
Miller went on to say that the recent drop in diesel prices has been a relief to Tiffany’s, as that has been the fuel of choice for the school buses due to its efficiency.
Miller said she has never understood why fuel in Hollister is so much more expensive.
Graham Mackie, vice president of Dassel’s Petroleum Inc., told the Free Lance what he believed is the reason for the high prices.
“Predominantly in San Jose and Salinas you see high volume stations. Here in Hollister the stations are low volume, so owners are stuck with the product they bought at a higher price for a week or more before they can buy new product at lower price,” said the manager, who added that he believes the higher fuel costs are based “purely on inventory.”
Mackie also believes that the current prices have been driven down by folks purchasing less product.
“Consumers can affect supply and demand,” said Mackie, “and they have. If they continue to conserve, prices will stay down. If they go back to their old habits now that prices are falling, prices will rise.”
Cindy Diedreich of Salinas is continuing that type of conservation. She commented while filling up her motorcycle while in Hollister, “Yeah, I have a car, but I ride this whenever I can.
“I would have just put in a buck in Hollister a month or two ago, and then filled up in Salinas where gas is so much cheaper. With the gas prices down now, I fill it up here, but when gas was really up, it took almost $20 to fill this little tank in Hollister.”
