Passing on gas
A Tennessee Buc-ee's had the lowest gas in eight states
On Tuesday afternoon, social media feeds in Tulsa were flooded with images of QuikTrip gas signs showing $4.19 a gallon for regular unleaded. That’s the first time it’s reached more than $4 a gallon in four years.
Oklahoma has had the lowest gas prices nationally but is now feeling the gas pain of the rest of the nation. Though, the state is still lower than the national average of $4.52 a gallon.
Last week, I helped my daughter return for the summer after her freshman year of college in Rochester, New York. We took a southern-state route, traversing around Washington, D.C. through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and Arkansas. It took four days and three nights.
The most expensive gas was a little over $4 a gallon in several of those states. The cheapest was at a Buc-ee’s just outside Knoxville, Tennessee, at $2.79 a gallon. But the Beaver Nuggets and seasoned nuts we purchased made up for the savings, proving its business model has merit.
Total trip gas cost: $360.18 with tolls about $30.
That’s not as bad as I had thought it would be, planning for closer to $500. If things don’t change, the trip back to college is going to be even more expensive.
Gas prices are set by a complicated formula of global markets around costs of crude oil, refining, distribution and taxes. The recent spike comes from instability in the Middle East with disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz. Before the U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28 in Operation Epic Fury, the average gas price was about $3 a gallon.
When gas prices surge, so do costs on everything from food to airline tickets. It directly affects inflation.
President Donald Trump has suggested suspending the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents a gallon for regular unleaded. For diesel drivers, its 24.4 cents a gallon.
Typically, the tax generates about $41 billion a year that goes into the Federal Highway Trust Fund to pay for highway and mass transit projects. To do list the tax, Congress would need to give approval. At least, that’s how the whole checks-and-balances is supposed to work.
Oklahoma’s gas tax is 20 cents a gallon, ranking 45th, according to the Tax Foundation.
Who knows how long any of this will last. I know that if I’m back to a long-haul trip for a fall semester, I’m stopping at Buc-ee’s in Tennessee.