Pressure at the pump builds as area gas prices reach 4-year high

Gas isn’t as costly as in 2022, but effects on residents are growing.

By JAMES ENGEL, MEGAN TROTTER and JOE NAPSHA
TribLive

Many in Western Pennsylvania braced themselves as they pulled up to the gas pump Thursday.

That’s because U.S. gas prices have soared to their highest levels in four years — about $4.30 per gallon nationally.

Though prices for regular unleaded in the Pittsburgh region haven’t reached the $5 per gallon high of 2022, they’re up to $4.37 per gallon and climbing — or about 75 cents more per gallon than a year ago, according to data from AAA.

TribLive reporters fanned out across the area to hear what the spike means for local motorists.

Adam Sack, 27, of Cheswick

Adam Sack put about 4 1/2 gallons into his small SUV in Cheswick on Thursday morning and lamented about the sticker shock.

“I used to be able to put $20 in the tank and fill up, but now I can’t,” Sack said.

For Sack, a Cheswick resident, the price of gas means relying on his friend to drive for a planned weekend trip to Ohio. He said he works from home and generally tries to avoid driving, but when the gas light comes on, Sack tries to shop around at stations for the best price.

On Thursday, that was the Cheswick Sheetz, which had regular listed at $4.35 per gallon and diesel at $6.09 per gallon.

Sack voted Democrat in the 2024 presidential election, but he said he doesn’t much care for Washington, D.C., politicians — especially now.

“No one’s helping me, that’s all I know,” he said.

Jason Carper of Latrobe

For Jason Carper, the daily commute is suddenly a more expensive endeavor.

“They’re really affecting me,” said Carper. “I’m definitely feeling it in the pocketbook.”

He drives his SUV to Monroeville for his job as a sales lead at a home furnishings store. The cost of his commute has increased from $40 per week to $55 since the war began, he said. For his girlfriend, who commutes to Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood daily, that figure is closer to $65, Carper said.

With prices of $4.39 per gallon at the Sunoco station on Route 30 in Hempfield, Carper said the commute “cuts into the profit margin.”

Jill Mueller, 60, of New Kensington

New Kensington resident Jill Mueller, 60, is a Door-Dash delivery driver, which requires her to stop for gas and fill up her Honda CR-V every day at Shamey’s gas station just off the Tarentum Bridge in New Kensington.

Within the last two weeks, Mueller said rising gas prices have begun eating into her profits, taking the first $30 to $40 — about a third of a day’s pay — out of her pocket.

While Mueller also works in construction with her husband, Andy, DoorDashing is one of her primary sources of income, and she worries the war will continue to drive prices higher.

“I’m not going to be able to DoorDash,” Mueller said. “I’m not going to be able to drive — I can’t afford the gas.”

Martin Kondrick, 71, of Indiana Township

Martin Kondrick spent about $90 filling up his Ford F-150 as he prepared to head to his camp in Warren County.

“This is going to hurt right now,” he said as the number on the pump ticked upward.

A lifelong Democrat, Kondrick said he voted for President Donald Trump in the last election, seeing him as the “lesser of two evils.”

Though he said he knew Trump was a “jagoff” when he voted for him, Kondrick said he attributes the price spike to greed among oil companies, which see an opportunity to raise prices.

With memories of the 1973 OPEC oil embargo and the resulting gas rationing, however, he said things aren’t as bad as they could be.

“At least you can get gas,” Kondrick said, referring to rationing rules that were in place during the embargo. Those rules largely limited most people to only being eligible to buy gas on certain days of the week.

Wendy Miller, 59, of Harrison

Wendy Miller and her son, Johnny, 26, stopped to get gas at Sheetz along Freeport Road on Thursday.

High prices have forced her to begin consolidating store runs to use less gas, she said.

Miller owns Backwood Solutions LLC, a welding company, and works from home. Despite not needing to commute daily, her job requires her to transport materials in a Chevrolet Silverado.

She has begun charging customers an additional 7% to offset transportation costs.

“Everybody accepts it. I mean, there’s nothing you can do about it,” she said.

Despite rising prices, Miller said the war in Iran needed to happen.

“I’d like to see (the Iranian regime) taken care of — they can’t have nuclear weapons, so I’m with President Trump on that,” Miller said.

Bob Waterloo, 73, of Arnold

Allegheny Valley Association of Churches property manager Bob Waterloo drives a large white van that allows him to transport food and other items to donation drop-offs.

He typically needs to get gas about once a week.

Waterloo said he believes prices will come back down, but it will take time before political tensions resolve. Like Miller, he said he sees the rationale for the war with Iran.

“I think I understand why it’s happening and I understand what’s happening over in the Middle East,” Waterloo said. “I’d like to see it end soon. I believe that what President Trump did was the correct thing. We needed to do this.”

Sh’Mi White, 30, of Homewood

For Sh’Mi White, who sat in his Tesla as it charged in Harmar on Thursday morning, the recent spike hasn’t meant much.

White said he spends about $10 to charge his vehicle instead of the triple-digit figures some drivers are shelling out for gas.

“I save a lot,” he said. Though the 15-30 minute charging time can be monotonous, White said not relying on gas has made his electric vehicle investment well worth it.