Alaska first state to hit $4 a gallon gasoline

Alaska first state to hit $4 a gallon gasoline

www.reuters.com

Alaska hit a milestone on Wednesday that could be a sign of things to come around the United States this summer -- it became the first state where the average price for regular gasoline reached $4 per gallon.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Ouch... $4 per gallon, with other states to follow. Over here in the UK we're paying roughly $7 per gallon. Several friends of mine have already resorted to public transport; it's just too expensive.

With living costs rising amongst other things we're heading into difficult times.

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

at least the UK has some decent mass transit system. Mainland United States very much lacks that. In Louisviile, KY gas is currently $3.95 and rising and the best "transit" is a single public bus company with limited routes. To put it bluntly it's pay up or walk.

It's not entirely surprising that Alaska is the place where the fuel prices are so high - the temperature there pretty much ensures that quality control standards need to be met, and transport costs themselves would be higher too because of the terrain.


jnwaters - i get what you're talking about with the bus routes, that's why where i live no one uses the buses - though we do have a train service that pretty much goes everywhere important in my local area, and if you're sneaky about it you can dodge the fair because they haven't put down toll booths yet.

Er... Not that i do that of course.



[edit on 15-5-2008 by Anti-Tyrant]

Hmmm... A part of me is glad because all of the people that own Suburbans and so forth will have to pay so much for the fuel.. I think if we were not driving all of those Urban Assualt Vehicles then fuel would not be quite as high as it is right now... I look down the street and there is a line of them.. What do those things get 10 miles per gallon? Maybe some good will come out of this.... This will force us to get better gas mileage greener vehicles... I have an SUV too... but it is a 4cyl and gets 30MPG... its a small SUV...

Isn't there a lot of oil in Alaska? I wonder why it risen so much if costs to delivery gasoline to this place should be minimal. Maybe because there are not a lot of voters over there? I really do not understand it. And even if consumption is higher then average - it still cannot be more then oil produced in there.
Or maybe there are no refineries in Alaska?

Originally posted by jnwaters
at least the UK has some decent mass transit system. Mainland United States very much lacks that. In Louisviile, KY gas is currently $3.95 and rising and the best "transit" is a single public bus company with limited routes. To put it bluntly it's pay up or walk.

Over here the latest idea is to car pool. Why drive alone when you can fit 3/4 other people in the car? Cuts costs dramatically. Of course this isn't always an option, particularly in the US.

Friends of mine working similar shifts in the same town have resorted to this in order to cut costs. It works.

reply to post by ZeroKnowledge


I'm under the perception (correct me if i'm wrong, please) that the fuel needs to be treated to ensure it doesn't freeze in the pipe lines/pumps, and it's not as if they could just heat the pipelines - health and safety (do you have the health & safety nazis in America yet?) would have a field day if they did something like that.

I get what you're saying though, i always thought there was plenty of oil in Alaska too.

[edit on 15-5-2008 by Anti-Tyrant]

*Sees the fatal flaw*

Okay, i don't get it one bit - Alaska is one of those places where transport is more or less a nessecity, so i think your government needs to be doing something about those prices.

That's the flaw our "government" doesn't care as their buddies are getting rich because of high gas prices.

***so This post isn't considered a one liner****

[edit on 15/5/08 by jnwaters]

They dont have oil refineries in Alaska.. The gasoline needs to be shipped there and it is expensive as it is far from everything else.. It also depends on State taxes and so forth.. It is $3.69 in Charleston, SC where I am at.. and we usually have some of the lower prices in the nation.. I saw gas for $3.59 and I thought.. hey that is cheap.. how sad is that.. Diesel is over 4 buck just about everywhere and that is what the truckers use... they get 6 miles per gallon... Imagine the frustration... of course that is another subject