Gas prices rise across nation, including Philadelphia area
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- If you've filled up your gas tank lately then you probably have noticed the pain at the pump.
Much of it can be blamed on Hurricane Harvey. The storm shut down refineries along the Gulf Coast which raised prices.
"It just cost me $55 to fill up this F150, it was costing me like $40. So every time I fill up, it is costing me an extra 15 bucks," Adam Resnick of Warrington, Pa. said.
The national average is $2.66, but the Action Cam saw prices well above that.
The price for regular at one BP station in Doylestown, Bucks County was $3.97 on Wednesday.
The manager wouldn't talk on camera, but tells Action News they have to increase their prices because the company they get their gas from charges them a higher rate.
While Action News was at that gas station, no one showed up to get gas; many opted for the gas station across the street which was about a dollar cheaper.
Off camera, people tell Action News this particular BP location is always higher than the other stations in the area.
Dr. Shelly Jarrell of the Temple University Fox School of Business says gas prices are easily impacted; she says they increase due to storms or other consumer fears.
"From extracting it out of the ground to getting it refined, to getting it delivered, if anything disrupts that flow, it immediately ripples just like rubbernecking at an accident causes a two mile traffic jam," Dr. Jarrell said. "We definitely saw an average increase of about 40 to 50 cent increase across the state because of Harvey."
As refineries in the gulf coast reopen, experts say prices at the pump will begin to stabilize, but until then, they say business owners down to the average consumer, should expect to pay more when they fill up.
"We are not doing as much traveling as we usually do because of the gas prices. We are utilizing SEPTA a little bit more to save," Regina Felder of Logan said.
Across the tri-state area, there have been no reports of price gouging.
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