It’s getting easier to find gas for under $5 a gallon in the Levittown area.
A check of area gas prices on Thursday showed the majority of stations charging between $4.91 and $4.99, with only a handful charging $5 or more.
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Over the past three weeks, it has been common to gas prices above $5 and even as high as $5.19 in the area.
Over the past week, the five-county Philadelphia area has seen gas prices fall 6 cents. The average gallon of gas in the region costs $5.02, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Across the nation as of Thursday morning, average gas prices fell from $5 last week to $4.94.
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Gas Buddy, a firm that tracks gas prices, said the overall cost of a gallon of gas is up $1.92 per gallon over a year ago.
The Levittown area last saw record-high gas prices in the summer of 2008 when prices were reported to be around $4.10 per gallon.
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Adjusted for inflation between 2008 and 2022, the summer 2008 gas price would cost about $5.51 a gallon today.
Gas prices are based on numerous factors and have been greatly impacted by COVID-19 trends, capacity, supply, and global uncertainty follow’s Russia’s war on Ukraine, experts have said.
“For the first time in nine weeks, gasoline prices have fallen, following a broad sell-off in oil markets last week, pushing the national average back under the $5 level with most states seeing relief at the pump,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “I’m hopeful the trend may continue this week, especially as concerns appear to be mounting that we may be on the cusp of an economic slowdown, putting downward pressure on oil.”
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On Wednesday, President Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cents-per-gallon federal tax on gas and the 24.4 cents-per-gallon federal tax on diesel fuel for three months to ease costs at the pump.
“I fully understand the gas tax holiday alone is not going to fix the problem. But it will provide families some immediate relief, give them a little bit of breathing room, so we continue working to bring down prices for the long haul,” Biden said.
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Biden and his administration have also called on increasing refining capacity and pledged to work with companies to grow production, while also focusing on a cleaner future.
Republicans have hit Biden for the high gas costs and said he hasn’t done enough to solve the problem. Some conservatives question if a pause on the federal gas tax that funds highway projects would really make a dent on costs to consumers.
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The U.S. Department of Energy provided the following strategies to save fuel:
• Minimize idling your car by turning off your engine when your vehicle is parked for more than 10 seconds. Idling can use a quarter to a half gallon of fuel per hour, depending on engine size and air conditioner use, adding up to three cents of wasted fuel a minute. In the winter, most manufacturers recommend driving off gently after about 30 seconds. The engine will warm up faster being driven, which will allow the heat to turn on sooner, decrease your fuel costs, and reduce emissions.
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• Drive sensibly and avoid aggressive driving, such as speeding, rapid acceleration, and hard braking. Aggressive driving can lower your highway gas mileage by 15 percent to 30 percent and your city mileage by 10 percent to 40 percent.
• Avoid driving at high speeds. Above 50 mph, gas mileage drops rapidly. For every 5 mph above 50 mph, it’s like paying an additional $0.22 per gallon of gasoline.
• Reduce drag by placing items inside the car or trunk rather than on roof racks, which can decrease your fuel economy by up to 8 percent in city driving and up to 25 percent at Interstate speeds.
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• Avoid keeping heavy items in your car; an extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could increase your gas costs by up to $.03 cents per gallon.
• Combine errands. Several short trips, each one taken from a cold start, can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.
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• Check into telecommuting, carpooling, public transit and active transportation like bicycling or walking to save on fuel and car maintenance costs. Many urban areas provide carpool lanes that are usually less congested, which means you will get to work and home faster and more refreshed.
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