For some Hollister residents it comes down to simply paying for
gas or that extra piece of food, as residents try to combat the
increasing fuel prices. With already tightened budgets, the New
Year has been met with increasing gas prices that have spilled over
an average of $3.35 per gallon in California
– a 30-cent jump from this time last year, according to a report
from AAA.
For some Hollister residents it comes down to simply paying for gas or that extra piece of food, as residents try to combat the increasing fuel prices.
“It sucks,” Grace Salinas said. “It’s horrible. The economy is already making things hard – now this.”
With already tightened budgets, the New Year has been met with increasing gas prices that have spilled over an average of $3.35 per gallon in California – a 30-cent jump from this time last year, according to a report from AAA.
Over the last two months, the state’s average price has grown by more than 20 cents, AAA spokesman Matt Skryja said.
And in Hollister on Monday, pumps around the city have the price ranging from $3.29 at Safeway to $3.43 at the Shell station on Tres Pinos Road.
Despite the elevated gas prices, the pumps are staying busy.
Around 11 a.m. Monday, Safeway was overflowing with vehicles pulling up to the pumps. Gas Stations around the corner at Chevron and Shell weren’t as busy, but still had their fair share of customers.
Salinas was only a few of the customers at Safeway that complained of spending the same amount but only getting a portion of the fuel.
“As you can see – it’s a lot,” Salinas said. “It’s at almost $70, and my tank isn’t full. It’s a lot, and I won’t eat for a few days.”
For Danny Villalon, he has to battle with cutting his entire budget as well as his gas consumption because he recently lost his job, he said.
“That’s where it hurts the most,” he said. “I can’t do as much because I can’t afford the gas.”
Villalon said he spends more time walking and riding his bike than he ever has.
For most, though, it’s something they have to do because they have to go to work or help out family members.
For Monterey resident Maria Lucido, she has to buy gas because she has to take care of her ill father who lives in Hollister.
“I’m not happy at all, but it’s something that I have to do,” she said. “I don’t have a choice.”
She still buys the same amount, so she has needed to increase her budget.
“I just spend more,” she said. “I’m not happy with it, but I have no control over it.”
What people do have control over is choosing vehicles that have better gas mileage and only driving when they have to, retired Hollister resident Tony Padron said.
“We just all have to ride our bikes,” he said.
Skryja expects the gas prices to stabilize and stay at the same rate for some time before the summer, he said. But afterward, the prices should begin to rise.
“Sometime in March the prices will start to go up, but as of now they should stay the same,” he said.
But it all depends on the economy’s forecast, the worth of the American dollar and how oil is looked as an investment, he said.
The least expensive average price for a gallon of gas in Northern California is Marysville at $3.25. The most expensive is Eureka at $4.53, according to AAA release on Jan. 11. The lowest in the country is Casper, Wyoming at $2.68.
The News To You
Here’s a sampling of prices in Hollister:
Chevron – $3.41
Home Town Liquors – $3.29
Quickstop – $3.29
Safeway – $3.29
Shell – $3.43
Valero – $3.34
