PHILADLEPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Your eyes are not playing tricks on you, and neither are your pockets. You are, in fact, paying more at the gas pump. Experts are saying you should expect those prices to climb even higher.
The average price for regular unleaded gas in the Philadelphia five-county region is $3.43 per gallon, according to officials with AAA. They say that's a $0.98 increase over this time last year.
"It cost me $75 to fill my truck right now with regular," said Kola, a realtor in Delaware County.
"It's been a little bit tough filling up a tank for $75. Usually it's like $35-40, but now it's gone too high."
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These prices have led to Kola to mostly leave his Chevrolet Silverado in park.
"I basically don't drive anymore," Kola said. "I went to show her some houses and I had her pick me up, just to save my own gas."
The prices Kola and other drivers are seeing are the highest in seven years, and the fall increase is not normal at this point on the calendar.
"This is not typical for this time of year, coming off a summer driving season where demand typically decreases and we make that switch over to winter blended gasoline, which is less expensive for refiners to produce," said AAA's Jana Tidwell.
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While pumping his client's gas at a local WaWa, Kola said these prices are forcing him to rethink how he gets around.
"I'm in the market looking for a car right now. I should be getting one in the next couple of weeks or months, to reduce my gas bill," Kola admitted.
Officials with AAA cite how energy demand is back to prepandemic levels, but the supply is not yet able to keep up with the demand, leading to the recent gas price surge.
They expect these prices to remain high, and climb even more.
