Bay Area super commuters being hit hard by rising gas prices
As the price of gas in California pushes toward $6 a gallon, Bay Area drivers are holding on for a miracle.
"I mean, you watch numbers keep going up, and you just pray that the numbers stop, and it just keeps going," Carlos Martinez said.
Martinez is categorized as a super commuter, or someone who drives for 90 minutes or more to get to work. He takes the two-hour ride from Roseville to San Francisco twice a week for his job in the city.
He's commuted for nearly four years, but recently the spikes of gas have increased, surpassing his monthly budget.
"Now, I would say the commute, or to fill up, is about $100 a week," Martinez said. "When I commute down to San Francisco, actually stay with family, either in Walnut Creek or in San Mateo. So, I have to add that to my drive as well."
Martinez's monthly gas expense averaged in at $500 dollars last month since the start of the Iran War. He even picked up odd jobs to offset costs, but the pain at the pump is a constant.
"It's not ideal, but that's what we have so far," Martinez said.
For him, the commute is the only option. And according to research from the Bay Area Equity Atlas, his situation isn't unique. About 3 to 5 percent of the Bay Area's workforce are super commuters, like Martinez.
It's a group that is undoubtedly being hit hard by gas prices, Severin Borenstein, an energy expert and professor at UC Berkeley, said.
"There's nothing they can really do about crude oil prices and even California gas prices," Borenstein said.
The Trump administration ordered a two-week ceasefire in Iran on Tuesday night. The markets immediately reacted.
"The moment that President Trump announced the ceasefire, the price of crude oil dropped about $15 per barrel. It was up around $110, and it ended around $95; that difference will start to show up in the price of gasoline," Borenstein said.
He told CBS News NorCal the market will remain volatile. It's a fact Martinez knows well.
"I do believe that they are going to go up a little bit before they come back down. Hopefully, I'm wrong on that," Martinez said.
