honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, April 8, 2004

O'ahu drivers live with $2.06 a gallon

By Debbie Sokei
Advertiser Staff Writer

Bill Loeffler feeds his Cadillac Seville, a 10-year-old gas guzzler, at a Shell station on Beretania Street. Loeffler said he's thinking about getting a more economical car because the Seville gets only 9 miles a gallon.

Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline on O'ahu hit a new high of $2.055 yesterday, according to the American Automobile Association travel club. The previous record was $2.054 a gallon set Oct. 2.

The higher prices haven't caused Hawai'i drivers to change their driving habits. For most of them, paying high gas prices is just a way of life.

"There is no question the prices are just out of line. Unfortunately, most people can't do anything about it. You pay the piper and live with it," said Dan Bishop of Waikiki as he filled his Chrysler Sebring at the Shell gas station at the corner of Beretania and Makiki Street.

Bishop said he's been shopping around for the cheapest gas, but will not go out of his way to fill his tank.

"You'll end up burning it up to go get it," Bishop said.

The state is set to impose the nation's only gasoline price cap on July 1 unless a bill working its way through the Legislature postpones it. The bill would delay the cap for one year.

However, the law as written would cap prices for regular at $2.31 under current market conditions.

Marita Biven spends $30 to fill her car's tank. "It's something that you have to work into the budget," she said. "What can I do?"

Bill Loeffler spent $42.55 to fill the tank of his Cadillac Seville at the Shell station. He gets 9 miles per gallon and fills up twice a week.

"My car eats a lot of gas, and I can only use premium gas," Loeffler said.

At a station on Beretania, regular gasoline was higher than the record-high average of $2.055.
Loeffler uses his car for his consulting business and to get to his second job in Waikiki. With Hawai'i's high cost of living and the increased gas prices, Loeffler said, he's been trying to drive less and is thinking about getting an economical car.

Loeffler also got a Shell gas card, which allows him to pay his bill over time.

To save a few dollars on gas, Kanani Chung waits in long lines at Costco's Iwilei gas station.

"The prices are getting outrageous," Chung said.

Chung, a corrections officer, uses her car to get to work in Kailua every day. She spends between $37 and $40 a week filling up her Dodge truck.

"I run it all the way down to empty before I put in again," Chung said.

O'ahu still has it better than Neighbor Islands. Yesterday, the statewide average dipped to $2.132, which was just below the record of $2.133 set just Tuesday.

California residents pay the highest average pump prices in the nation — $2.175 for self-serve regular gas.

The price caps that take effect July 1 tie Hawai'i prices to those on the West Coast. The bill was passed in 2002 after the state settled a price-fixing lawsuit with refiners for $22 million.

The price caps prevent Hawai'i wholesalers from charging more than 22 cents more than the five-day average spot wholesale price for regular gasoline in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland. That average for last week was about $1.35 a gallon, which results in a local wholesale price cap of $1.57 a gallon.

Hawai'i's law also would cap retail prices at 16 cents above wholesale prices, which would result in a price ceiling of $1.73 a gallon before taxes.

Tack on about 58 cents in federal, state and local taxes, and gas prices on O'ahu would be capped at $2.31 a gallon under the price-ceiling formula. Although stations won't be forced to charge the highest amount possible, part of the concern about price caps is that gasoline retailers will charge higher prices when they can to recoup profits lost during periods when prices are capped at a low level.

In addition, the price cap law caps the price only of regular gasoline, so stations could charge more for other grades of gasoline or simply stop selling regular.

Advertiser staff writer Sean Hao contributed to this report.

Reach Debbie Sokei at dsokei@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8064.