From Deseret News archives:
Katrina hikes Utah gas prices
Storm has shut down most of the gulf's oil, natural gas production
In Utah, Monday's unleaded gas average was $2.498 per gallon. Tuesday, it went to $2.528.
"Everything, it seems, is an excuse to hike gas," said Joe Mann, a Phoenix resident who was filling his vehicle at the downtown Salt Lake Chevron station on 500 South. Gasoline prices there rose 4 cents Tuesday.
Katrina shut off 95 percent of the gulf's crude-oil production capacity and 88 percent of its natural gas, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, an arm of the Interior Department.
The hurricane's impact on U.S. oil supplies has created rumblings that gas prices may increase by as much as 30 cents per gallon in some regions by today, but drivers waiting in line Tuesday said they needed the gas anyway, regardless of how much it could cost tomorrow.
"It's ridiculous. I'm amazed at how high gas prices are, but you have to have it," said Shelby Bond of Murray as she filled her Mazda Protege at a Sinclair station Tuesday. "I'd take TRAX, but it's pretty much impossible for me not to have a car. Even if my car does get good gas mileage, it's still tough."
Bond and her husband each have a car and the two carpool to save money. The couple both need their cars for work and have had to cut back on their entertainment to compensate for rising prices.
Bond said she would drastically reduce her driving habits if gas reached $3.50 a gallon.
"Three dollars a gallon is pushing it. But you have to drive. You have to," she said. "I guess we just have to wait and see."
Many drivers are using carpooling to compensate for rising prices.
The Utah Transit Authority's vanpool program is up 111 percent and 90 groups are waiting for a van so they can join the program, said UTA spokesman Justin Jones. UTA's rideshare program — where, through rideuta.com, two people traveling to similar destinations can be matched up to carpool together — is up 50 percent from last year.
Ridership on TRAX is also up by 12 percent from last year and 6 percent overall.
For $1.40, "UTA will take you wherever you want to go," Jones said. "It's a lot cheaper than a gallon of gas.
Utah Department of Transportation spokesman Nile Easton said motorists are running out of gas at an alarming rate. Incident management crews, who respond to calls from drivers who run out of gas, used to respond to about 15-20 calls a week from stranded motorists. But this year, it's up to 30-35 a week. Easton said those crews hear many anecdotal stories from motorists who thought they could make it on low gas until the next morning, when prices were sure to come down.
