RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginians are now paying an average of 17 cents more per gallon after a significant jump in gas prices in just seven days from $4.05 to $4.22.
That increase has drivers like Roddy Younger in a financial pinch.
He paid $4.25 Monday at the Richmond BP station he frequents.
“It was $108 for a quarter tank. I don’t know how you expect people to function,” Younger said. “It’s hideous.”
As a result, Younger said he would likely be looking for a third job.
“I already work two full-time jobs as it is. A third one is in the making,” he said.
Ryan Pilkington, who described the latest price hike as coming out of nowhere, said the high cost of fuel means he will likely not travel as much as he hoped this summer.
“Especially when you're on like a fixed budget, too,” Pilkington said. “I'm a college student, so I don't really have extra cash.”
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Morgan Dean with AAA Mid-Atlantic said that if average prices in the Richmond metro go up by one more cent, it will tie an all-time high.
As for why you’re paying more, Dean said that it mainly boils down to costs for crude oil going up, concerns over the global supply chain and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Dean said predicting when drivers could see relief was “very hard to say.”
In fact, prices could tick higher with Memorial Day weekend and the summer travel season approaching.
“That usually turns into higher demand at the pump which in turn turns into higher prices,” Dean noted.
According to a recent AAA survey, 40% of drivers are still planning trips while 45% are changing their routines to save fuel and 15% said they are cutting costs in other ways.
“It’s a little it like we’re on a roller coaster, Dean said.
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