A Royal Cab driver, who prefers to be called simply Cosby, had a friendly wager going with the cashier at a Merit gas station on Eastern Avenue in southeast Baltimore.
Cosby was betting yesterday that he couldn't fill his tank for less than $10.
He lost the bet, but drove away happy -- the winner in a month-long price war among several filling stations along the Eastern Avenue corridor, just east of Francis Scott Key Medical Center.
At Merit, which is leading the war, regular unleaded gas was selling for $1.189 a gallon at the self-service pumps yesterday and was expected to drop further today. Medium-grade gas was being sold for $1.339 a gallon and premium for $1.389, some of the lowest prices in the state.
For Cosby, the low Merit price represented a gold mine that brought nothing but smiles. After months of seeing gasoline prices steadily on the increase, finally he could get relief.
"Being a cab driver, I'm always driving around looking for a good price," he said. "I'm the one that has to pay the rental fee on the car and the gas fee, too. When I get money back from $10, that's always good news."
No less happy was Robert Mechalske, who was filling up across the street from Merit at a Crown filling station where regular gas likewise was selling for $1.189 a gallon.
Mechalske said that, as a copy machine service technician, he gets ample opportunity to compare gasoline prices in the area.
"I drove by here yesterday and said to myself, 'The next time I get gas, I'll make sure I'm on Eastern Avenue,' " he said.
Similar prices were posted at a nearby Amoco. An Exxon station also in the vicinity was keeping its prices at $1.319 a gallon for regular gas.
Industry experts say the Eastern Avenue price wars are nothing new, and are common in "gasoline alleys" where several stations are in close proximity and the competition is stiff.
Still, such wars have been rare in the region since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait last August, when gasoline prices nationwide increased precipitously. The trend appears to be reversing, and not only along Eastern Avenue.
Statewide, the average gasoline price has declined 7 to 10 cents a gallon since December, according to a report being released today by the Maryland chapter of the American Automobile Association (AAA).
At self-serve pumps, the average gas prices were $1.335 for a gallon of unleaded regular, $1.43 for a gallon of medium grade and $1.534 for a gallon of premium, the report states.
