Gas prices rise 19 consecutive days in Riverside County

You’re probably feeling a pinch at the pump as gas prices rise across the south land. The average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is about $3.75 right now across Riverside County, the highest since last September.

The price rose for 19 consecutive days, increasing about 64.5 cents per gallon in Riverside county, a 30 cent increase in the past week alone, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

“Gas prices are ridiculous,” said Bonita Stewart of Beaumont.

“We had a little drop down at the beginning of the year, but the last few weeks it spiked a lot,” said Paul Marcinkowski, ARCO AMPM franchise owner. “A lot of refinaries from Chevron and Tesoro have seen maintenance issues and flare-ups that that cause them to reduce their capacity. Supply has gone down and crude has gone up.”

Consumer Watchdog accuses Chevron of making huge profits as prices increase.

“We have no increase in demand and yet oil companies have increased the price of gasoline by 31 cents,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog.

To help ease your gas bill, Marcinkowski said there are a few pointers.

Fill up in the mornings, before 1 p.m.
Fill up before the weekends
Keep tires properly inflated, which will help with fuel efficiency

“I use GasBuddy. I check the prices in the morning and I get my gas before 1 o’clock,” said Stewart.

There’s a silver lining. The average price per gallon is about 51 cents less than it was this day last year.

For more information on how you can track gas prices near you, visit gasbuddy.com