Gas prices rose quickly in March — so quickly, in fact, that the national average surpassed the record of $4.11 per gallon set in July 2008, according to the Energy Information Administration.
AAA’s national gas price statistics reported that the new record cost for one gallon of regular gas was set on March 11 and is now $4.33. However, it has gone down very slightly to the current national average of $4.24.
Locally, Youngstown is setting records, too. The record, set March 29, shows that the Youngstown-Warren area hit an average of $4.10.
Many Americans expressed dissatisfaction with the rising gas prices, especially when some can remember gas costing 99 cents per gallon at the beginning of the pandemic.
Several people want to know the cause behind the increase. It seems the rise in gas prices is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fault, not U.S. President Joe Biden’s. The sanctions placed on Russia have crippled its ability to export crude oil, according to a release from GasBuddy on March 5.
The student body of Youngstown State University consists mainly of commuters, and the rise in gas prices adds to the financial burden many students have.
At the current average rate of $4.09 per gallon in the Youngstown area, it would cost $59.31 to completely fill a 14.5 gallon tank in a quite small 2005 Hyundai Elantra.
One year ago, at the average rate of $2.87 per gallon, it would cost $41.62 to fill up the same size tank. Overall, this change resulted in an almost $20 increase.
With a half-hour commute to and from the school, many students fill their tanks every 1-2 weeks.
At this point, we’ve limited ourselves to filling our tanks with however much gas $20 can buy — regardless of how much our cars actually need for a full tank — as an attempt to trick our minds into thinking we aren’t spending the obscene amounts of money that we actually are.
