TALLADEGA COUNTY – Just when you think gas prices have to have reached their ceiling, they creep up a few cents higher than before.With oil prices at a record high and no predictions of relief to be found, it looks like both people and businesses will have to grit their teeth and continue to pay more at the pump.
Jeff Floyd, of Floyd and Beasley Transfer Company in Sycamore, said the trucking company already has begun implementing changes.
“The biggest thing is we’ve slowed our trucks down to 66 miles per hour,” Floyd said. “We’ve had that implemented since March. We always try to enforce a no idling rule with drivers, and we’ve been stepping that up, too.”
Floyd said some people believe companies do not lose money due to fuel increase because of the money taken in by the fuel surcharge, but that is not always the case.
The cost of diesel fuel the company’s trucks use has gone up 30 cents since Monday when the average fuel cost was updated for this week by the U.S. Department of Energy, Floyd said. The company basically has no way to recoup that money lost on the rise in fuel expenses this week.
“If it keeps going up, we’ll have to work harder in every way we can. We bring to the forefront to drivers about the importance of rising fuel costs,” Floyd said.
The average citizen is feeling the pinch, as well.
The Raceway service station on Battle Street in Talladega had some of the lowest gas prices in town on Thursday, but customers said the rising prices still were putting a strain on their budgets.
Lewis Hobbs of Talladega said he does not drive as much as he used to because of the rising prices. He tries to accomplish all of his errands in one trip these days.
“If it goes up, it will be hard to cut back even more. I teach in Pell City, so I don’t have much choice but to drive,” Hobbs said.
John Peterson of Talladega said paying $25 for gas used to fill up his car, but this time it only got him a little over seven gallons.
“You have to do what you have to do,” Peterson said. “Next Tuesday and Wednesday I have an appointment at the VA Hospital in Birmingham. I don’t drive, and my wife is not going to be able to go, so I’ll probably have to pay someone at least $50 to take me there and bring me back, on top of paying for gas. I draw Social Security, so it’s going to be rough.”
Hobbs said consumers will have to find a way to deal with higher prices in all economic sectors because of the increase in oil prices.
“It affects the prices of everything,” Hobbs said. “Unless we all get raises, we’ll just have to bear with it.”
