“It’s ridiculous.”
Shantele Hernandez pumped gasoline into her Tahoe and watched the price soar higher and higher. But the gallons of gasoline don’t climb quite as fast.
Hernandez travels from Troy to Temple . And when it comes time to fill up, Hernandez can’t bear to fill it up all the way.
“I put in $30 each time, just to get by,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you go, the price is always high.”
Even though prices are high, Hernandez stopped at one of the cheaper locations in town - the BP station on General Bruce Drive.
As of Thursday, the station was holding at $2.89 a gallon for regular unleaded, and every little bit helps.
“It saves us a few cents and that few cents gets us that much more gas,” Hernandez said.
Amir Velani, owner of the BP station, takes pride in selling gas at some of the lowest prices in Temple.
He shoots for sales in volume rather than sticking high price tags on gas.
“If you get the volume big then you can keep the price low,” Velani said. “If you’re too high, you lose business.”
“We are always cheaper than everybody else,” he added.
That hasn’t always been the case.
Earlier this year, the gas station next to the BP station began “gas wars,” with each station trying to go below the other.
While the BP station is battling to see who can go lower, other stations seem to be doing the opposite.
The Exxon at the intersection of Thornton Lane and Oakdale Drive is currently taking the award for the highest gas prices in town, according to TexasGasPrices.com.
Regular unleaded gas was going for $3.05 a gallon.
But the continuous line of drivers pouring into the station made it apparent that the high price wasn’t dissuading customers.
“You can’t even find a cheap one,” Wilhemina Sheppard said. “They’re all high.”
Sheppard recalled when gas was only 80 cents a gallon.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.”
Sheppard spends at least $20 every two weeks for gas, which she attributes to her small car and her job being only five minutes from her house.
“As long as you have a job in the city limits, you’re all right,” she said.
If you’re Nathan Cline, $20 every two weeks sounds like a steal.
Cline shells out $150 to $200 a week for gas.
“It’s wrong and we can’t do nothing about it,” he added.
Across Temple, gas stations are hiking their prices.
Nine gas stations listed on TexasGasPrices.com are leveled at $2.99 a gallon as of Thursday. Including the Exxon at Thornton Lane and Oakdale Drive, two stations in Temple reportedly tumbled over the $3 mark.
The Mobil station on 57th Street and Scott Boulevard had prices set at $3.02 on Thursday. While the Exxon seemed unaffected by the numbers, Mobil customers seemed scarce Thursday afternoon save for customers purchasing snacks and refreshments inside.
Trying not to break the bank when filling up may not be a feasible endeavor but Cash Gas at the intersection of West Thompson and North 3rd Street offers the best bet with gas prices bottoming out at $2.87 a gallon for regular unleaded, according to TexasGasPrices.com
But once word gets out, it may not last for long.
As for the future of gas prices, Velani predicts the prices will just keep soaring.
The price of oil reached $94.58 per barrel Thursday afternoon.
“They just predicted $100 by the end of the year,” Velani said. “But it could be any day.”
