Hollister
– Rising gas prices have put the breaks on local resident Jackie
Barajas’ social life.
Hollister – Rising gas prices have put the breaks on local resident Jackie Barajas’ social life.
The increase has been costly for Barajas’ father, who commutes daily to San Jose. And since his car is shared by Barajas’ entire family, everyone is feeling the pinch. Barajas said her father started cracking down a few months ago, discouraging driving and pushing for shortened shopping trips to the closest possible store.
“If he had his way, we wouldn’t be using his car at all,” Barajas said.
Barajas isn’t the only one cutting back on driving. Board of Equalization Chairwoman Betty Yee recently released a statement announcing that statewide gas consumption from January to March 2007 fell by 27.5 million gallons from the same period in 2006.
“This is the fourth consecutive quarter that Californians pumped less amid rising gas prices,” Yee said.
At the beginning of 2007, local prices averaged $2.55 per gallon of unleaded gas. By mid-May, prices had increased to $3.42 per gallon. Since then, costs have fallen to an average $3.16 per gallon.
Several Hollisterites interviewed Wednesday said higher prices have made them think long and hard before getting in the car.
As a retiree, John Ucovich doesn’t have to commute but still drives regularly to Mountain View, his home before moving to Hollister five years ago. And he said gas prices are prompting more careful trip planning.
“We still go, but we think about how many things we can do in one trip,” he said.
Barajas said things were different just a few months ago, so she’s hoping that prices continue dropping.
“Before (prices started going up), there was no problem,” she said. “You could put $5 in, and you could go wherever you want. Now you put $5 in, and it’s like, where did it go?”
Sean Comey, spokesman for the AAA of Northern California, said falling gas consumption bucks a long-term trend of rising usage.
“It shows that consumers are making an effort to reduce the amount of fuel they consume,” he said. “That probably signals that the trend will continue.”
Yee’s announcement is a significant development because “there’s only so much you can do in the short-term” by trying to cut down on driving, Comey said. But in the long-term, more thoughtful drivers could lead to a shift to more fuel-efficient cars.
