[dump]

I haven't been able to put my finger on a definitive answer here, so what exactly makes gas prices so high in some regions compared to others?

We have people in the middle of pennsylvania paying $1.45 whereas in San Francisco prices are around the $2.50 mark.

Is it as simple as a supply & demand issue? Supply isn’t an issue – there’s enough oil to last decades at the current consumption rate, and I can’t remember the last time I ever went to a gas station & wasn’t able to get whatever kind of gasoline I fancied… (using the last 10-15 years as my sample)

It seems more likely that in large markets, there’s more money and people are generally used to paying more for goods & services... and also willing (or forced) to pay escalated prices for gasoline. So in these prices, if everyone charges lots of money for, then everyone makes bank, but perhaps there’s a (false) perceived scarcity effect as well. Is it easier to get gas into the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania, or more difficult to get lots of gas to the port city of San Francisco, New York, etc?

The price could be raised to $3.00 or $3.50 and I imagine the gasoline consumption would remain very near what it is now. There’s obviously a critical mark (or zone) where individuals will be forced to find alternatives to driving everywhere due to the escalating price of gas, but right now w/ the current infrastructure in much of the united states, you’re forced to commute w/ automobiles as the alternatives aren’t viable or practical for the most part….

I dunno what I’m saying here… anyone else have ideas?

 

[dh girlie]

I know that in California with all the damn hippies here we have very stringent environmental laws...in order to adhere to them I think the oil companies have to add something to it? they used to put MTBE in the gas that was supposed to make it burn cleaner I believe, but somehow it contaminated the groundwater...not 100% sure if that's the story but I know it's because of the environmental laws that we pay higher prices for gas...

 

[LordOpie]

you're trying to tackle too many issues at once. On the one hand, you have global economics and our gov't's policies in general as well as specific to the good in question.

We'll start with local economics. One basic factor for what a gas station charges is their fixed cost, namely real estate. San Francisco has crazy rent/ownership cost verse (say) Limon, Colorado. Any good or service sold wherever needs to cover their fixed costs. If it doesn't, they'll soon be out of business. So, the price is affected by the cost that business incurs in the location their sitting in... including utilities, labor, etc. Tho, those aren't "fixed" costs, but are adjusted by the local market.

I'll post more later, but going back to work now... w00t! Gots me a full-time gig in this crappy economy

 

[Zark]

There can be a geographic element to gas prices. The distance your town is from a majpr refinery can impact the price. In SB gas prices are some of the highest in the country ($2.45 for 87 right now) but they pull oil right off the coast. Why is this? Because the nearest refinery is Tustin, deep in LA.

 

[RhinofromWA]

The prices are higher where they can gouge the people easier. Areas were the public is generally wealthier the prices will be higher. Rural areas they tend to be lower....even though the gas needs to be trucked out there.

It has alot to do with location/customer demographics than how far from a refinery or costs to modify gas for local regulations.

If a oil company knows they can get more $$$ from Groupe A than B. Group/area A's will have higher prices.

Rhino

 

[handlebars]

Originally posted by Zark
There can be a geographic element to gas prices.

horsepoop....i live within 25miles of the bp oil refinery and gas is $2.41 here.

 

[COmtbiker12]

Unleaded Gas at almost any statiobn here ranges from about $1.95-$2.05 it seems.

 

[blue]

A little above $2.00

 

[Silver]

Originally posted by Zark
There can be a geographic element to gas prices. The distance your town is from a majpr refinery can impact the price. In SB gas prices are some of the highest in the country ($2.45 for 87 right now) but they pull oil right off the coast. Why is this? Because the nearest refinery is Tustin, deep in LA.

Do you mean the refineries in Carson? I'm not aware of any in Tustin (I could be wrong though.)

 

[Toshi]

Originally posted by RhinofromWA
The prices are higher where they can gouge the people easier. Areas were the public is generally wealthier the prices will be higher. Rural areas they tend to be lower....even though the gas needs to be trucked out there.

It has alot to do with location/customer demographics than how far from a refinery or costs to modify gas for local regulations.

If a oil company knows they can get more $$$ from Groupe A than B. Group/area A's will have higher prices.

Rhino

yup. and i see nothing wrong with that. despite cheap gas, i certainly wouldn't want to live in central pennsylvania

no, seriously. visiting penn state was depressing.

 

[golgiaparatus]

:closes eyes and remembers:

Full 20+ gallon tank in 1976 LTD = $15

:wakes up in reality:

Full 15 gallon tank in 03 Elantra = $30+

 

[dump]

Originally posted by Toshi
yup. and i see nothing wrong with that. despite cheap gas, i certainly wouldn't want to live in central pennsylvania

no, seriously. visiting penn state was depressing.

that goes w/o saying! glad to be the hell out of that state.

 

[pnj]

'they' are just screwing you because they can.

$2.40 in the city of seattle for the cheap stuff.

 

[DRB]

Boy oh Boy. The answer is insanely complex. But the four biggest factors for geographic pricing differences are as follows

1. Environmental requirements - some locations have more stringent environmental requirements that require special (read more expensive) gas formulations. The expense comes in more processing time and more expensive raw materials in the processing.

2. Local tax structures - this varies so widely from place to place that it isn't even funny. Just in State taxes alone it varies from .12 in Georgia to .33 in Nevada. That doesn't include any local or federal taxes that would also be charged in addition.

3. Demand requirements - some areas simply use more gas than others. In many cases this is a seasonal usage. With this increased demand it gives the opportunity for gas companies both retail and wholesale in nature to raise their prices to help cover times of lesser demand. Other times its based on the fact that a gas station is the only one around for miles and miles and can get away with it.

4 Production costs - this relates to #1 in many ways. The cost to produce a gallon of gas in the US has gone thru the roof in many areas due to the new environmental regulations. These MULTIPLE regulations have driven the petroleum industry into developing multiple production streams. Along with these new streams come added overhead, production costs and maintenance requirements. Historically those costs had been localized by stream thru wholesale pricing for those specific products and subsequently folks would suffer geographically. However, it is becoming more prevalent for these companies to pass this cost along to other less expensive streams to be more competitve across the board.

 

[pnj]

why has the price suddenly jumped so high?

it's crap I say.

 

[DRB]

The state of California maintains a fairly accurate set of figures on pricing and other related information at www.energy.ca.gov

 

[Big_Papa1080]

gas in baltiomore is $1.98
diesel is something like $1.76

 

[DLo]

Wow, you got it bad out in the bigger city. Do you use public transportation at all? It can't be too bad out there. Plus, don't have to worry about the damn parking.

Here's what the prices are at yesterday.

 

[DLo]

This is what I go for weekly now. I guess it could be worse, at least we aren't living in Europe. I heart my gas guzzler

 

[pnj]

public transportation sucks. too many stinky hippies.

plus, it takes me 20 minutes to drive. it would take about 1:15 hours to take a bus. I could ride my bike in that amount of time.

as for parking, i work at a school. plenty of parking. (it does cost though).

on the down side, it can take an hour to get home afterwork. even longer if that suck baseball team is playing.