Some altering driving lifestyles
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
Curtis Cho is paying more attention nowadays to the gasoline price signs outside the stations that line his daily commute.
That's becoming more of a pastime for many local drivers as gas prices locally and nationally continue to rise. On Friday, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular statewide rose to $2, compared with $1.86 a month ago.
Premium, which Cho uses on his daily drive between Pearl City to work at Kuakini Medical Center, now costs an average $2.16 a gallon compared with $2 a gallon last month. With prices that high, it pays to shop around, he said.
"You have to go all over anyway, so when I have to fill up, I just try to remember which gas station in that area has the best price and go there," Cho said.
So far, Cho said he isn't planning on any drastic alternatives such as taking TheBus, but he is thinking about driving a different set of wheels.
"Gas prices are getting so high now, I was thinking about getting a motorcycle," he said.
Wilton Itamoto of 'Aiea said he tries to combine convenience with cheap gas prices.
"I'm not going to go too far out of my way to fill up gas, though I know some people who do," he said.
Still as prices rise, the desire to drive diminishes, Itamoto said.
"I have cut down on driving a little bit," he said. "If I don't have to drive, I don't drive."
High gas prices aren't pinching consumers only, but businesses, too, as the effect of higher gasoline prices takes a toll on profits for bus operators, limousine services, truckers and other ground transportation companies.
The rates for many of these services are regulated by the Public Utilities Commission. However, the application process for a rate change can take months, said John Lewis, general manager for the Western Motor Tariff Bureau, the organization that files for rate changes for its motor carrier members.
However, the commission allows transportation companies to impose a fuel surcharge on customers to help cover higher gasoline costs. Those surcharges are changed once every three months, Lewis said.
"If prices continue to remain high, that will be taken into account in April," he said. Until then, a steady rise in prices since the beginning of the year "is something they've had to absorb."
Some of those losses are recouped when prices drop, Lewis added.
"It all works out eventually," he said.
Lance Terayama, president for Island Movers, agreed that until fuel surcharges are readjusted, there's nothing the company can do but absorb the extra expense.
"I think we'll be OK if prices don't go up too much more," he said. "It's not a huge problem, but it does have an impact."
Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.
