Gas prices put drivers in a pinch

Deepa Bharath

Costa Mesa resident David Nestor says he wants to drive less.

“But I also want to have a life,” he said, with a pained

expression on his face. “So I have to drive.”

Over the last few weeks, gas prices in California have shot up,

skyrocketed, broken records and earned the state’s gas stations the

dubious distinction of pumping some of the most expensive gas in the

nation.

Orange County broke the record for the highest average gas price

on Thursday, said Jeff Spring, spokesman for the Automobile Club of

Southern California.

“The previous record was $2.04 on May 25, 2001,” he said. “[On

Friday], the average price per gallon in Orange County was $2.05.”

Some stations in Newport Beach were selling gas at almost $2.20 a

gallon by the end of the day on Friday. Costa Mesa’s average was

close to $2.09.

There is no way to know if gas prices will continue to climb in

the days to come, Spring said.

“But there is no indication that it’s going to come down any time

soon,” he said.

While the impending war with Iraq could be looked at as a cause

for people’s pump travails, there is another, more significant reason

not many know about, Spring said.

“This price hike is mainly because our supply from Venezuela got

cut off,” he said. “The workers are on strike opposing government

policy.”

That situation has caused a shortage of 3 million barrels, Spring

said.

But people don’t understand policy, politics or pricing, said

Afsan Ehsani, office manager at Newport Beach Chevron.

“We ourselves don’t know why these prices go up,” she said. “But

customers don’t understand that. They yell at the poor cashier who is

making $7 or $8 an hour.”

Ehsani said gas station owners, who are dealers for the big

companies, suffer the most.

“Because of the price increase, our volume goes down,” she said.

“Even our car washes go down. People spend so much money for gas,

they don’t want to spend more on a car wash.”

Ehsani said life is tough for a dealer, who buys gas at a lower

rate than the consumer, but loses money all the same in taxes, fees

and rent.

Customers such as Nestor say they cannot believe how quickly

prices have gone up.

“Yesterday at this same gas station, the price was $1.99,” he

said. “This morning it was $2.05, and now in the afternoon it’s

$2.09! How do you explain that?”

Molly Fawcett of Newport Beach, offers a different perspective.

“I’m concerned about the increases,” she said. “But the fact is

that other countries have always paid more for gas than we have. So,

in a way, I’m thankful that we’ve had it so good for so long.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].