Gas is finally back under $3 in Connecticut.
Nationwide, prices have tumbled as well; the largest decline in three weeks.
With the busy summer travel season just around the corner, many think it’s just a matter of time before prices start creeping back up again.
“This is the time that it climbs anyway, every year. So, what are you going to do? You’re going to go where you go and do what you do anyway,” said New Britain resident John Cromwell.
He filled up in Newington Tuesday, ahead of his road trip to Virginia Beach.
“I go to Massachusetts, I go to New York, I go to Washington. It is what it is,” he said.
According to AAA, prices at the pump tend to peak in late May or early June.
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“Since it’s like a two hour drive home I don’t go home as much because I waste at least 200 miles of gas,” said Max Leard of Mansfield, Massachusetts.
The Central Connecticut State University student Max Leard said he’ll be sticking around Memorial Day weekend instead of going back home to Massachusetts. He added that he’s found other ways to make sure the price at the pump doesn’t hit pocketbook.
“It makes me drive a little less. Like if I can walk somewhere to class I walk instead, just because it prevents me from spending more on gas,” said Leard.
If you do plan to travel around the Northeast, chances are where you’re going will have cheaper gas than Connecticut where gas is just under $3 a gallon.
Headed up to Maine? Expect to pay $2.81. Down to the Jersey Shore? $2.91 The cheapest gas in our neck of the woods is in New Hampshire at $2.74 a gallon.
Adam DeLeon said he already pays a pretty penny at the pump each week, driving back and forth from Glastonbury to Newington for work. He’s staying put for Memorial Day.
“It’s too expensive to be driving around now wasting gas like this,” said DeLeon. “We try to budget but sometimes you can’t even budget.”
While gas prices have gone down in Connecticut, they’re still 20 cents higher than they were a month ago, according to AAA.
“I think it’s inconvenient for those who travel a lot,” said Meriden resident Jeremy Santiago.
Michelle Halpin said she uses a full tank of gas to drive from her home in Windsor Locks to work in Newington.
“I travel about 20 miles. I’d like to be traveling for a little less than that. It shouldn’t cost me $70,” she explained.
To stretch her dollar further, Halpin keeps a close eye on gas prices along her route.
“I compare them between my hometown and here where I work so there’s a lot of times this is consistently the lowest price,” said Helpin of the Citgo on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington.
Mary Bolduc said she also scopes out the lowest prices and has put the brakes on any major travel plans.
“To go anywhere far I would definitely feel it because I’m retired,” said Bolduc.
DeLeon said his family puts so many miles on their cars during the week that they try to stick close to home on weekends.
“When we do have to drive on the weekends we just try to stay with one vehicle,” said DeLeon.
While gas prices are heading in the right direction, consumers are bracing for more pain at the pump as the busy Memorial Day weekend approaches. AAA said reports that two Saudi oil tankers were attacked in a vital oil and gas shipping route could also keep prices volatile.
“I don’t want to see it go back to where they were a couple years ago where they were almost hitting $4. I mean that was even a little bit ridiculous,” said Helpin.
Gas is $4 a gallon in California, which has the highest prices at the pump according to AAA.
South Carolina and Alabama have the lowest. Gas is just $2.48 there.
Click here to see the average price of gas wherever you plan to travel.
