Gas price hike impacting travel and work (includes video story)

Gas prices continue to rise across the United States, impacting the cost of travel and work.  

In Florida, the average price for a gallon of gas has risen to $4.37, the highest in the state since 2008.

Camila Zambrano is a Miami resident and college student who has been severely affected by the rise of gas prices.

“I know people that work full-time, and they live at least 30 minutes away (from their job), so they have to refill their tank maybe like once a week… they’ve gone from filling it up from what used to be about 30 dollars a gallon to about 60 or 70 dollars a gallon,” she said.

Working a part-time job and being a full-time student, Zambrano has seen herself having to limit how much she drives in order to save up money.

“Because I already spend (money) for school, and then I’m not getting that much income, it affects how much I can drive. I can definitely see myself putting limits on where I can go.”

As a direct counter to the gas price rise within the country, Uber has added a surcharge for both drivers and deliveries ranging from $0.45 to $0.55 per ride and between $0.35 to $0.45 per delivery for its Uber Eats service. This comes as both Uber and Lyft report that take-home play plummets due to the increase in gas prices.  

In Washington D.C., the average gas price in the district is now $4.51 per gallon, according to AAA, eclipsing the national average of $4.33. 

This hike has spread throughout the DMV, with Maryland averaging $4.27 per gallon, prompting legislators to agree to a one-month suspension of the state’s 37 cents per gallon gas tax, which is expected to be finalized sometime next week. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin spoke to Fox Business, stating that he is “going to suspend the most recent increase in the gas tax.” 

State legislators in Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are also looking to pass plans to suspend their gas tax in the coming weeks. 

One of the latest sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia has been an oil-import ban. Although Russian imports represent less than 10 percent of what the United States imports globally, it is still predicted to have a major impact on gas prices stateside. 

Analysts say that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made it difficult to predict exactly how long this spike in gas prices will last.

Fabio Lopez is an undergraduate student at Florida International University. He transferred from Miami-Dade College with an Associates Degree in Mass Communication. Currently, he is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Broadcasting. Lopez is an Assistant Director for the student-led newspaper PantherNOW Sports. He is also a communications intern for Inter Miami and a member of the FIU Honors College.