Gas prices reached an all-time high in California this week,
forcing Morgan Hill residents to drain their wallets while filling
their tanks.
Gas prices reached an all-time high in California this week, forcing Morgan Hill residents to drain their wallets while filling their tanks.
Across Morgan Hill, the price of regular unleaded averaged $2.67 per gallon on Friday morning, up from $2.51 at the end of July. The statewide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is now $2.66, an increase of 71 cents per gallon since mid-January and breaking April’s record high of $2.63, according to AAA.
The cheapest place to fill up on Friday was the Arco gas station off Monterey and Cochrane roads for $2.61 per gallon. The highest prices were found at the Chevrons on Monterey Road next to Vineyard Avenue and Cochrane Road for $2.73 per gallon.
But the biggest price increase is in diesel gas, which cost as much as $3.09 per gallon at three of the four stations that carry the fuel. Diesel gas cost $3.03 at Valero gas station on Monterey Road, next to Albertson’s.
The spike in diesel fuel is hurting truckers who say they are forced to decline jobs because they will lose money.
“I’ve had to turn down four jobs today because they won’t pay me enough,” said Mark Georgianna, a trucker from Oregon. “I estimate my cost in diesel to be 45 cents per mile. A year ago, it was half that.”
Georgianna said companies will need to start paying a surcharge if they are going to keep truckers willing to carry loads.
Diesel truck drivers gathered in Gilroy Friday for a rally to protest the high fuel prices. They said they will urge Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency to stave off sky-rocketing diesel prices. Truckers said they may have to charge $17 per hour to run loads which may have to become heavier.
Back in Morgan Hill, Jacquelyn Holderfield, an employee at the Union 76 station off Monterey Road and Dunne Avenue, said she has seen customers pay more than $500 to fill the tanks of three trucks and worries what impact fuel prices will have on the economy.
“This could very well crash our economy,” Holderfield said. “Our economy revolves around fuel. It is putting a hurt on the customers.”
Residents said while they are not happy with the high fuel costs, there is nothing they can do except pay the rising rates.
“We’re getting ripped off, but they’ve got us,” said Mitch Stafford. “There is nothing we can do about it. My wife is a real estate agent and she needs to drive to different sites. So what is she going to do?”
Staff Writer Lori Stuenkel contributed to this report.
