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YONKERS, N.Y. – Gas prices are on the rise, in Yonkers and around the nation, and many drivers say they are staying closer to home because of it.
The average for a gallon of regular gasoline in the New York City and Westchester area topped $3.91 Wednesday, up 20 cents from a month ago, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.
In Yonkers, prices ranged from $3.75 at Ultimate at Elm and School streets to $4 at a BP on Yonkers Avenue, according to GasBuddy.com. Motorists filling up said the higher prices were putting a damper on their plans.
“If I have errands to run I try to get them all done at once so I’m not making extra trips,” Chris Fahey said, pumping gas outside a Central Avenue Shell station.
But it’s not just Yonkers drivers who are watching their prices soar at the pump. Across the country, gas prices jumped an average of 17 cents in July to $3.50 per gallon, the largest increase for July in more than a dozen years, AAA said.
According to AAA’s Consumer Pulse Survey, when gas prices rise, consumers cut back in three major areas: shopping for pleasure, dining out at restaurants and going out for lunch during the week.
Yonkers’ Luis Ortiz said he has had to make some sacrifices as he looks for ways to afford filling up his car.
“It cuts into your budget, that’s for sure,” he said. “The more you pay for gas the less you have to do other things.”
There may be good news on the horizon for these road warriors however, according to AAA. August prices are expected to remain relatively flat before falling soon after Labor Day as the summer driving season ends, the travel organization reports.
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