Gas prices in Philadelphia region hit a record-high on Labor Day. Drivers are fed up: "It's getting ridiculous"
Drivers returning home from Labor Day weekend faced another hit to their wallets Monday, with gas prices reaching a record high for the holiday.
At a Wawa in Bellmawr, New Jersey, drivers stopping to fuel up said the rising prices are becoming increasingly difficult to absorb.
"It's getting ridiculous, like seriously," driver Jerome Battle said.
"It's like every time you turn around it goes up, and it just gets worse and worse," James Thompson said.
AAA spokesperson Jana Tidwell said drivers have good reason to feel the pain.
"This is the highest Labor Day gas price on record," Tidwell said.
Drivers in the five-county Philadelphia region are paying an average of $4.36 per gallon, while the average in South Jersey is $4.24. In Delaware, drivers are paying about $4.15 per gallon.
Across all three regions, prices are at least $1 per gallon higher than they were at the same time last year, according to AAA.
At the Bellmawr Wawa Monday evening, regular gas was selling for $4.29 per gallon — enough to make some drivers reconsider filling up altogether.
Shana Bridges, who lives in North Jersey, was heading home with a little less than half a tank but decided she would take her chances rather than fill up at Wawa.
"I'm a little under half now, and that should make me home, and then in the morning, I'll go to Costco," Bridges said.
Bridges said she is even considering trading in her SUV, which she calls "the gas guzzler," as fuel costs add to other rising household expenses.
"I can't afford it between the high rent, the groceries, the gas," she said.
AAA said drivers could soon see at least some relief.
Beginning in mid-September, gas stations and oil refineries will begin transitioning to winter-blend gasoline, which is generally cheaper to produce.
"It's less expensive for motorists," Tidwell said. "So there should be a couple pennies per gallon that we'll see."
It may be a modest drop, but for drivers already watching their budgets closely, even a few cents could make a difference.
