By Pamela Cruz in collaboration with Enrique Esparza. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Wandering around the city to find a gas station whose cost is a few cents less than most, is the ordeal of many Redwood City residents who, like other Californians, live the anguish of knowing how to save a little in the face of high gas costs.
For Redwood City resident Alma, the difference in gas costs from a few months ago to today is "huge," and she has even considered modifying her family's daily activities to reduce the cost of using her car.
"I have noticed a lot of difference. Before, a full tank lasted me two weeks, now it lasts me the same, but with much more money out of my pocket, a lot. Sometimes I have to travel with my son because he practices soccer and we have to travel long hours so he can do his activities, and sometimes we think about it, but we can't back out of it, because it's part of our lives," he told P360P.
Alma has noticed that the high cost of gasoline has affected her ability to carry out daily activities such as going to the store for groceries, or simply going out to work.
"We would like to walk to the store, but we have other things to do, so we go by car. Gasoline is running out of our pockets".
The idea of switching to an electric vehicle is not as bad as Governor Gavin Newsom and even President Joseph Biden himself have suggested. However, there are many who cannot afford to buy a new car at this time, and electricity costs are also high.
"It would be a good idea, however, electricity is expensive, we have to make expenses, and I already have my car that uses gasoline, right now I can't afford to buy an electric car, maybe in the future."
The average cost of regular gasoline in California for today is $5.838 per gallon, just .016 cents less than yesterday, but $1.92 more than exactly one year ago.
Things get more complicated when San Mateo County has a higher average cost in gasoline, reaching $5.876 per gallon of regular, while San Francisco registers one of the highest gas prices in the state, with an average of $5.928 per gallon of regular.
While President Biden's decision to release one million barrels of oil per day for six months - 180 million barrels - from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) helped the global price of oil fall to around $100 per barrel in an effort to curb rising energy prices, consumers are not feeling the relief in their pockets.
Emir, another Redwood City resident who was interviewed at the Chevron gas station located at 2215 Camino Real, where the cost is 5.89 per gallon of regular, said he is aware, like other citizens, that the war between Russia and Ukraine is one of the main causes of the high energy prices, however, he believes that the high cost of gasoline will not decrease, but on the contrary, will continue to rise without return.
"It affects me economically, because before I used to put 60 dollars in my car and now I put 100 or 120 dollars a week, so it has already increased too much. It affects everything, also food, because of the means of transportation and gasoline, everything goes up. I don't think it will go down, it is very difficult, it has only gone up," he said.
For Araceli Agustín, a single mother, the impact of high gasoline costs on her pocket is already unsustainable.
"It is a very heavy expense that is being incurred because before I used to fill my tank with 60 dollars at the most and now I only put half of it with 60 dollars, only half. If I fill it up, I would practically have to put $120 in my car and that is quite an expense. Besides, for single moms, it is a very impacting and heavy expense, it is affecting us a lot".
To this, he added that basic consumer products such as eggs, tortillas, and meat have had a very high price increase, which has led them to make changes in their consumption. "The impact of this price increase is quite high".
"The upward momentum in oil prices caused by Russia's war in Ukraine is facing further downward pressure from the planned release of SPR oil and increased fears of COVID in China," said Andrew Gross, spokesman for the American Automobile Association - AAA.
This, he said, will be reflected in falling pump prices for consumers in the U.S., without saying precisely when.
Therefore, for the majority of citizens who have to go about their business, the only thing left to do is to hope that this reduction in the high cost of gasoline will be as soon as possible.
Among some tricks to deal with high gasoline costs and reduce fuel wastage are to minimize the use of air conditioning.
Yes, we know that San Mateo County, like the Bay Area, is already beginning to feel the high temperatures of spring and summer, but even at highway speeds, open windows have less effect on fuel economy than the engine power needed to run the air conditioning compressor.
In hot weather, park in the shade or use sunscreen on the windshield to reduce heat buildup inside the car. This reduces the need for air conditioning - and therefore fuel - to cool the car.
Another option for using less fuel and dealing with high gasoline costs is to plan ahead for multiple errands in a single trip and, whenever possible, to make those trips outside of peak traffic times of the day.
If you have more than one car, use the most fuel-efficient model that meets the needs of any given trip.
Remove unnecessary and bulky items from your car. It takes more fuel to accelerate a heavier car, and the reduction in fuel economy is greater for smaller cars than for larger models.
AAA research has found that unless your automobile manufacturer recommends or requires premium fuel, it provides no additional benefit, so motorists are advised to consult their vehicle owner's manual to verify what type of gasoline is recommended for their engine.
In the face of high gasoline costs, To buy or not to buy an electric vehicle? That is the question.
A study of the 2020 Consumer Report found that owners of battery electric vehicles spend 60 percent less on fuel compared to the average car in their class.
For its part, the AAA details thatAlthough owning an electric car is about $600 more expensive per year, it costs less in individual categories: fuel, maintenance, repairs and tires.
With the impending gas prices and the governor's executive order Gavin Newsom to ban the sale of new gasoline passenger cars and vans by 2035In the case of electric vehicles, the concern to switch to electric vehicles has factors to be analyzed by buyers: price, charging accessibility and travel time.
In January, Governor Newsom outlined a $10 billion package for zero-emission vehicles based on his 2035 plan to make electric vehicles more affordable and convenient for Californians.
That initiative includes setting aside $256 million for low-income consumer purchases; another $900 million to expand access to affordable and convenient zero-emission vehicle infrastructure in low-income neighborhoods; and planning and developing various charging station options in communities.
There are several ways to get an electric car at a lower price in California.
The Clean Vehicle Rebate Program allows you to receive up to $7,000 to purchase or lease a new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, battery electric vehicle or fuel cell electric vehicle. You can check if you are eligible by clicking here. click here.
In addition, you can search the incentive database of Drive Clean in CaliforniaThe California Air Resourced Broad, where you can find a new or used electric vehicle.
Likewise, Peninsula Clean Energy has plans for assistance in acquiring a used electric car.
But that's not all, there are other tools such as Electric For All, a website that provides a list of electric car models currently available in California, as well as the incentives offered by each of them.
But if you have no idea which electric vehicle is the most suitable for your needs, you can access the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Guide to Green Vehicles.while the site Plug Share lets you know where there are electric charging stations near you.
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