Jacque Taylor's No. 1 expense in her photography business is gas. She's based out of South Jordan but shoots weddings as far away as Utah and Weber counties. These days, filling her vehicle with gas costs about $70, and she fills up every five or six days.

She would like to cut back driving. "I can't. I'm self-employed," she said.

Frank Wilson, manager of a Penske Truck Rental at 525 S. 500 West, charged customers who returned trucks that were empty of fuel $4 a gallon for gas last year. Now, he charges $7 a gallon. But he doesn't think the increase has been much of an incentive for people to return the trucks with a full tank.

Wilson frequently finds that people fill the trucks up — minus a gallon or two — hoping Penske employees won't notice the missing gas.

"You know, people are trying to get away by squeaking through," Wilson said.

Penske's large trucks have 100-gallon tanks, and Wilson notices that large truck rentals are down, which he in part attributes to gas prices. Penske's moving service also hasn't been getting many calls lately — a symptom of another part of the ailing economy: the housing crisis.

"They've got to sell their house in order to move," Wilson said.

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Contributing: Associated Press
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com