Drivers are crossing city lines to reach Metro Detroit's cheapest gas as prices surge toward record highs
A gallon of regular gas on Detroit's east side runs $4.47 or $4.99, depending on which corner of Harper Avenue a driver pulls into.
Four stations compete at Harper and Cadieux Road. The cheapest is the Freedom Fuel Network station at $4.47 a gallon. The Amoco and BP stations across the street are selling regular at $4.69, 22 cents more. The Shell station is at $4.99.
"I stop trying to understand gas prices. I just try to find the lowest one and use it," said John Walker, of Detroit.
Walker and his wife both drive to work, and he said each car takes about $50 a week. "So that's $100 a week, $400 a month," he said.
The Freedom Fuel station opened at the start of September selling regular unleaded at $3.47 a gallon. CBS Detroit reported at the time that the price was set in honor of the 47th president, and that the station is promoted by President Trump. Its price has climbed a dollar since.
Related: Michigan drivers juggling expenses as gas prices continue to climb
CBS Detroit also reported that the parent company of the Freedom Fuel stations, KRSM, is accused in a federal lawsuit of failing to pay for about $4 million worth of fuel from a supplier. KRSM denied the allegation as of early September.
Even a dollar above its opening price, the station is still drawing drivers from outside the city. Kenja Greene fills up there on trips in from Clinton Township. Greene said putting gas in the car to get to work comes ahead of other household spending.
AAA put Michigan's average at $4.92 a gallon, up 61 cents from a week earlier and above the national average of $4.47. Three of the four stations at the Harper Avenue corner are below the state average.
Michigan's record average is $5.22 a gallon, set in June 2022, according to AAA and prior CBS Detroit reporting.
The increases trace overseas. CBS News reported Thursday that Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading around $103 a barrel, with the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine war cutting into refining capacity worldwide. The Midwest has been hit especially hard after a power outage halted production at an ExxonMobil refinery outside Chicago. Analysts told CBS News that drivers should expect higher prices to stick around.
Sammie Harris, of Detroit, said the prices are too high. "We need to do something to bring them down," he said.
Keith Bailey, of Detroit, said he's stopped looking at the number on the sign. "I just know I have to have it, so I just stop and go ahead and get gas," he said.
Harris said he wants lawmakers to act. "Find a way to lower the gas price," he said. "I'm a retired person, but there's people out here that need these prices lowered so they can get back and forth to work."
