LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It’s not quite like those long gas pump lines of the 1970s when we experienced a shortage, but the lines at the Costco pumps appear to be longer than usual because there’s some money to be saved by filling up there.
“It really is if you can get that kind of savings. And you feel as if you’ve won something,” joked Pastor Hershael York after filling up his car with premium unleaded.
A gallon of premium is still below $5 at Costco, but at most other stations it is more than $5. On average, drivers are saving 20-30 cents per gallon by coming to the warehouse store to fill up, and during this time when we’re seeing historic gas prices, the savings are worth every penny to many.
“I go in (Costco) some, but for the most part it’s worth it for the 20-30 cents,” said Brant Cornelius.
Cornelius recently returned from Michigan where he attended a friend’s wedding. He said he made the trip with other friends so they could share the cost of gasoline.
According to AAA, Kentucky’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded went up again overnight and now sits at $4.72. That’s up 40 cents from a week ago, and nearly two dollars from one year ago at this time.
“Fortunately, I can take the hit, but people who are living on lower-income, it’s hitting them really hard,” Pastor York said.
Businesses are impacted as well. Jacob Bartley works for Pinnacle, a landscape, lighting, and design company. Mr. Bartley is one of their employees who travel from state to state making service calls and soliciting business.
“We’ve had to almost triple our service calls to some of our customers,” he stated, due to the gas prices. He then noted that many customers have decided to put off their projects as a result of the gas prices making everything surrounding their project more expensive.
“It’s quite honestly doubled our expenses to get around from place to place. It impacts whether or not we will go to a job because it’s too far,” Bartley said.
These are the same tough decision that’ll be facing many this summer, because the driving season is upon us, and there doesn’t seem to be any ceiling to these price increases.
“I don’t think it’ll change too much, except you might not eat at as nice of a restaurant. You only have so much budget, so it’s coming out of something,” Pastor York said.
