March 10, 2000
Janet Czipo has had to use her lunch money to supplement her usual funds allocated for fuel because of increased prices at the gas pumps.
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Commuters cut down as price of fuel rises--Surge in cost of driving had bigger impact in past
By Jim Schoettler--Times-Union staff writer
There have been days recently when Nease High School senior Janet Czipo wonders if she'll have enough money to gas up her car for the drive to the St. Johns County school or to her job as a part-time waitress in Mandarin.
Czipo, 18, of Fruit Cove, said she is frustrated over the skyrocketing price of gas and how much it has cut into her small budget, and she has plenty of company. Commuters throughout North Florida and South Georgia said they are feeling the pinch of higher gas prices affecting the entire country and are looking for ways to cut down on the cost, leading some to change their daily routines.
Czipo said she has to put more than $10 of gas into her car to get what $5 bought only months ago and she's having trouble affording it. She said she hesitates to drive her car anywhere other than school or work.
"Sometimes I'll wait till I'm below the E and have to stop with my lunch money," said Czipo, who stuck a few bucks' worth in her car's tank Wednesday at the Gate station off U.S. 1 at County Road 210 in Palm Valley. "If the tips are better, then I'm going to get more gas. "
At a nearby pump, Karen Bednarski said she commutes from her home in Ponte Vedra Beach to her job in St. Johns County as the director of the World Golf Village's Hall of Fame. Bednarski, 47, said she's begun consolidating errands so she can drive less when she's not commuting to work.
"I've had to increase my gas budget about 30 percent, which I'm not happy about. I think it's ridiculous," Bednarski said. "Instead of going to the store three times during the week, I'll make sure I do all my shopping at once. I'll stop at the post office and dry cleaners and all the other places I need to do at the same time."
Also at the same station, where regular unleaded gas was selling for $1.49 a gallon Wednesday, there was plenty of bitterness and questions about why the price can be so much in one spot and higher or lower in others.
John Roach, who owns a catering and restaurant business in Palm Valley, said he delivers in Jacksonville, St. Johns and Clay counties. He said he will reluctantly have to pass on his increased gas expense to customers and he blames the oil-producing countries of the Middle East for the problems.
"We should be getting this for almost nothing. Think about every time we go and bail those cats out when they're in a jam," said Roach, 42. "I just put $31.50 in my truck for not even 20 gallons. I was paying $1.25 a month ago and now I'm paying $1.60. It ain't no fun."
Julie Heidelberg, spokeswoman for the AAA Auto Club's headquarters near Orlando, said the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gas is about $1.54 in Florida, compared with $1.39 the previous month and 98 cents a year ago. The average price in Georgia is $1.38, compared with $1.22 last month and 83 cents a year ago. Some oil analysts are predicting prices could hit $2 by the summer.
About 37 percent of the gasoline used by people in the United States involves driving for work, while about 35 percent is used driving to and from work, according to the AAA. Heidelberg said consumers are just now beginning to feel the impact of the higher prices.
"It's obviously taking its toll on a lot of people," she said. "We are sort of stuck. Most consumers want to know when this is going to stop."
Commuters are likely to change their driving habits by seeking alternatives, Heidelberg said.
"We might see a lot of people trying to carpool or taking public transportation if it's available," she said. "People may also be searching for shorter routes to work where a lot of times you might take the long way to avoid traffic."
Marci Larson, spokeswoman for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, said the JTA is ready to handle an increase in ridership and recommends people consider express bus service or using the Skyway, a downtown elevated monorail, as a means of saving gas.
"We certainly hope people would start thinking about other transportation alternatives," Larson said. "It depends on how much money people are willing to pay for a gallon of gas."
Actually, some commuters say the problem could be a lot worse.
Judy Law, a real estate agent, said she accepts that driving is part of her business and isn't worried about paying a few more cents for gas if she can continue to make a living by selling homes in today's strong market.
"In the great scheme of things, it's a minor business cost," said Law, who sells for Prudential Network Realty in Ponte Vedra Beach. "You have to measure it against the potential for profit."
Sasha Erben, a waiter at the River Club downtown, said he doesn't mind a short commute into downtown when all he has to pay is $1.50 a gallon. Erben, 30, moved to Jacksonville from Germany three months ago and was used to paying as much as $4 a gallon.
"This is cheap compared to Europe," he said.
Erben's thoughts weren't any comfort to fellow downtown commuter Rachel Hutchinson, who drives about 27 miles from her Green Cove Springs home to work as an e-mail administrator at Modis. Hutchinson, 22, said she's spending at least $20 a month more in gas.
"I look for the cheapest gas station, but they're all high," Hutchinson said. "One of the reasons I'm living in Green Cove is it's cheaper to live there, but the gas prices are having a big impact. If it goes to $2, I'm going to have to ask for a raise."
Roxi Snyder said she's spending $5 to $10 more a week traveling from her home in Argyle to her job as a registered nurse at Baptist Medical Center and plans to not buy gas during three days in April after seeing word of a boycott on the Internet. Snyder said she's changed part of her daily routine because of the higher prices.
"I pretty much condense all my errands into one," said Snyder, 32. "Instead of going the shortest distance on the way to work, I stop at the post office and on the way back, I stop at the grocery store."
Mike Howington is feeling the pain. A masonry worker from Hastings, Howington said he's recently been spending at least $10 a day getting to and from construction jobs in and around St. Johns County. He is working on a subdivision at the World Golf Village.
"It's costing a whole lot more to come to work. It's cutting into my earnings," said Howington, 27. "You have to fill up whenever you can and hope you've got enough to make everything else meet. I'll just have to work a little bit more, I guess."
Tommy Furr, hanging drywall at the World Golf Village, said he switched to lower-grade gas to make up for the higher cost.
"I used to put a high-grade, clean gas in. Now you supplement for what you can," said Furr, 47. "You'll spend less, but who knows what kind of effect it will have on your vehicle."
Two shoppers who frequent the Orange Park Mall said they worry about throwing more money at the pumps.
Lori Lloyd of West Jacksonville said she drives a new Volkswagen Beetle and has no intention now of cutting down her weekly shopping trips to the mall. But she said if gas continues to rise, she may not have a choice.
"I can't fill it up for less than $20 anymore," said Lloyd, 40. "If it goes up to $2 a gallon, I will definitely cut down."
Gloria Peterson of Folkston, Ga., has already begun planning her cutbacks. Peterson said she travels to Clay County to visit family members once a week and visits Orange Park and the Regency Square malls on her trips. She said she has already limited her travel in Folkston to cut down on gas and foresees cutting her long distance visits as well.
"Where I'd drive back and forth to town, I walk," said Peterson, 38. "I might not be able to come [to Florida] more than once a month now because I have to cut down. It has changed people's lives. It really has."
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