Published: April 30, 2008 10:40 pm            

Increasing gas prices forcing changes

Individuals, businesses altering daily activities to spend less money

ASHLAND — In a hurry to get to a Tuesday morning class, Amy Johnson of Cannonsburg pulled into a Speedway store, looked at the $3.75 per gallon gas price and quickly left the lot in search of a better price.

“I went down the road and the BP hadn’t raised their prices yet so I stopped there,” she said with a laugh, quickly admitting she has become a bargain shopper when it comes time to fueling her vehicle.

Ever-increasing gas costs have caused her to change her travel habits, Johnson said.

“I stopped driving as much and I’m working more just so I can pay for gas,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

A few miles away at a Marathon station, Jackie Gamble of Johnson County said gas prices hit her family on a daily basis.

“My husband works an hour from home and he has to drive that every day, six days a week. He did carpool with another man and it wasn’t as bad then but he has to drive it by himself now,” she said, adding her husband has to budget about $14 a day for gas. “He makes $17 an hour but it seems like it’s all going to the gas pumps.”

For daily errands, Gamble said she has developed an excellent strategy for fuel conservation, “I wait until one of my buddies goes.”

John McMeans said deliveries from his business, McMeans Pharmacy, account for 40 percent to 45 percent of his business. The business has not adopted a delivery fee, he said, although that has been considered.

“We’re just biting the bullet like the rest of the country,” McMeans said. “We are just doing the best we can to provide this service.”

Rob Fields, owner of Fields Flowers, said his business has actively sought ways to make its deliveries more efficient.

“Over the last four years gas has tripled. We got larger delivery vans then about four years ago,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “Now we’re going back to smaller vans. We have a minivan and a small car for deliveries.”

Fields said the business has raised the delivery fee as fuel costs increased, although it still takes a loss on the transaction.

“I’m not even sure what it costs to make a delivery right now,” he said, explaining the business has adopted tactics including making deliveries when they have a full load instead of sending drivers out with individual arrangements, or sending inexpensive arrangements on long trips.

“We used to deliver just about anything anywhere. Now we have to be more cautious about that,” Fields said.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.

com or at (606) 326-2651.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.