Gas price spike hitting Chicagoans hard at the pump
CHICAGO - The high cost of driving increased Wednesday.
The price of a gallon of regular gasoline rose from $4.29 to $4.39 at a BP station in Chicago’s South Loop.
No one was smiling at the pump.
One driver filled the tank of a Jeep SUV: 17 gallons of gas totaled $92.
Consumers said they will pay whatever it costs and make up for the price in other areas.
Malcolm Lewis prefers to pay a little at a time but said it doesn’t go as far as it used to.
"Normally I can put gas in the car and it would last me a week. Now, I put gas in the car and I think it used to last me a week, now about two or three times a week I’m going to the gas station," Lewis said.
Demand has been increasing with more people returning to work and opting to drive alone.
"It’s March and it’s kinda crazy for the gas to be almost $5 a gallon now. You can imagine what it’s going to be, come June and July. People will travel less," said another driver.
President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address, the United States will release 30 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, along with allied countries. He said the US is prepared to do more to bring relief to American consumers.
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