D.S. writes:
Last time gas prices spiked, there was a hue and cry about prices in Charlottesville being higher than other parts of Virginia. Well, in my driving to Richmond for the Picasso exhibit and to DC via Orange, F’burg and I-95, prices in Charlottesville are lower than those locations, even in the expensive areas (Pantops, 5th St by I-64).
We also considered the high price of fuel here back in September 2006.
I drove to DC a few weeks ago, and Clarke County on Saturday, and everywhere I went, gasoline was more expensive than in Charlottesville. Gasoline might have been pricier around here in 2006 and 2008, but it looks like we’re getting our turn at lower rates. GasBuddy.com’s Virginia section says that the average price in the state is $3.87/gallon, which is more than all but one gas station in Charlottesville is charging—our prices seem to be clustering around $3.79/gallon.
OK, gas may be cheaper. But how about rents, taxes, fees, parking, food and other sundries? It’s okay for merchants to charge more for everything in the boutique town. That’s part of its cachet. Plus it keeps out the riffraff.
I drive back and forth to Staunton a lot, and I watch prices here vs the valley. My two cents (and $.02 will get you in the neighborhood of 20 tablespoons of gasoline, by the way): When prices are moving up or down a lot, Cville prices and those in the valley are close to the same, but when prices stay about the same and “settle” into a price over a period of weeks/months, the difference seems to be larger. I have no idea why, just an observation…
Was up at Pantops today and the BP was selling gas for $3.29 gal….some kind of promotion I guess….the line of cars went all the way around the building…
That seems to have been short-lived. In the low $3.60s in Fredericksburg and Orange. And WINA was talking about $3.54ish at Afton. Guess we should have kept our mouths shut.
Over the past five days I drove up to Boston and back again, and gas is way cheaper in Virginia than in WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY, CT, or MA. I rarely saw gas for less than $3.97, frequently quite a bit above $4.