NORTH BAY VILLAGE, FLA. (WSVN) - Drivers across Florida are facing some of the highest prices at the pump in nearly a decade, according to AAA.
The gas price increases have hardly gone unnoticed in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Customers at a Shell gas station in North Bay Village on Tuesday said they have noticed an uptick.
“I kind of keep an eye on it,” said Michael Amand.
“That’s really raising too much, I think,” said Nella Punzi.
“It’s outrageous,” said Raquel Vanderbiest. “I have 11 years with my car, and I never pay $50. For me, it’s like, wow.”
Even drivers visiting from out of town said they were surprised gas prices in South Florida weren’t much lower.
“It’s so much cheaper over here, usually,” said Deana Onishchenko, who is visiting from Washington state.
AAA follows the gas prices closely, and officials said these are some of the highest prices they have seen since 2014.
Since the beginning of 2022, they said, they have noticed increases.
“Over the past month, we’ve seen gas prices jump anywhere from 20 to 25 cents, depending on what region you are in,” said AAA spokesperson Mark Jenkins.
Vanderbiest said the prices are sky high everywhere she goes.
“Everywhere, it’s not like, ‘Oh, maybe in Little Havana it’s cheaper, because I work there.’ No, it’s the same,” she said.
The national average is $3.46 a gallon, up from a year ago, when it was $2.47. In the Sunshine State, it stands at $3.47, up from $2.48 in 2021.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad. Gas prices have jumped quite a bit here in the past month,” said Jenkins. “Oil prices have jumped about 21% so far this year, and that’s really the main driver behind the rise in gas prices.”
The price for regular unleaded at the Shell station in North Bay Village was $3.52 a gallon.
Jenkins said another contributing factor is supply and demand.
“Now we’re seeing the highest gas prices in about eight years,” he said.
“It just seems like every little thing that happens in the world, the prices go up,” said Amand. “You know, the weather, the prices go up. We got political discourse, the prices go up. It’s very rare to see the prices go down.”
“As a senior on a fixed income, it’s not the most pleasant thing to have to deal with,” said a woman.
But Jenkins said there are some steps drivers can take to help keep gas expenses down.
“Some things you can try to do to get the most out of your money: drive conservatively. If you’re speeding, then that’s going to use up more gasoline,” said Jenkins. “Remove excess weight, maybe consider combining trips, and look at different ways to save when you’re at the pump itself.”
But experts warn Floridians not to expect gas prices to drop anytime soon.
Even with the price increase, Floridians said they are limited on their options and will pay it anyway.
“It’s too high. I don’t know how people can afford it,” said Vanderbiest.
“It hurts the pocket to everybody, not just to you or me,” said Punzi.
Despite the hike in prices, they still haven’t reached the highest reported average of more than $4 a gallon for regular gas back in 2008, according to AAA.
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