Cape area drivers eye rising fuel prices

Record high crude oil prices have sent the cost of gasoline climbing, and some local drivers were doing all they could to compensate and save a few cents.

The state average for gasoline was around $2.90 to $2.95 a gallon, closing in on the record high state price of $3.06 from September 2005, according to AAA spokesman Mike Right.

While the cost last September was due to hurricanes in the Gulf Coast region, this year's prices are mostly due to the recent price increase of crude oil, prompting some gasoline stations around the state to increase the price an extra 10 cents, Right said.

This recent increase in costs in the Cape Girardeau area has prompted some consumers to alter their travel plans.

"I only go where I have to go," said Anita McCray of Cape Girardeau.

McCray, who kept a close eye on the price of her gasoline as it ticked off Friday afternoon at Southern Gas Station at the intersection of Sprigg Street and Highway 146, said high prices prompted her to buy a more fuel-efficient car and to stop giving friends rides. The price per gallon at the station was $2.79.

"If they run it up any more, it's going to get ridiculous," Chris Smith said.

Reducing trips

Smith, of Cape Girardeau, used to travel to Carbondale, Ill., twice a month to visit friends and family. Now with the higher gas prices, the trips have fallen to about once every two months.

Larry Clemens of Piedmont, Mo., also has cut down on his travel. Clemens owns two businesses in the Poplar Bluff, Mo., area that he used to visit about three times a week. Now, with the high gas prices, Clemens said he visits the businesses only twice a week, or even once if he can.

These consumers are not the only ones curbing their driving habits.

According to Right, Missouri saw a one to two percent decrease in gasoline consumption in the first five months of 2006 compared to the year before.

And consumers holding off on their summer vacation plans for cheaper gas shouldn't bother waiting, as Right said a dramatic decrease in gas prices was not expected to happen anytime in the immediate future.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127