Maryland gasoline prices may not be as high as last summer, but they have risen faster than in any previous year.
Since the beginning of the year, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Maryland has increased 63 percent to $2.58 - a steeper climb than last year's march to a record $4.05, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The steady climb since the market bottomed out at $1.58 Jan. 2 has raised fears of a return to $3 or $4 gasoline.
With gas prices up $1 per gallon since the beginning of the year, some Maryland families are feeling a pinch that even memories of last year's sky-high prices can't ease. Although Monday's gas prices are almost $1.50 less than at this time last year, some drivers say it doesn't matter. Today's pain is what counts.
As she pumped $2.53-a-gallon gas yesterday at the Osprey station at 33rd St. and Greenmount Ave. with her 4-year-old daughter Nacala, Efa Williams wasn't having any of that tank-half-full stuff.
"I look at it as it's 90 cents more than it was at the beginning of the year. You have to live in the moment," she said. "Whatever it was recently is what you think about."
Williams was among many Marylanders who are feeling pressure on their household budgets this year as a result of a run-up that put the national average Monday at $2.67, according to the Energy Information Administration. The week's 10-cent jump nationally was greater than the 6-cent increase in Maryland.
Williams said her family doesn't fill up the tank anymore - as it did when prices were under $2. She had just pumped a total of $13 worth - and paid cash in order to get a discount. A stay-at-home mom who runs a nonprofit out of her Baltimore home, Williams said she's having to tighten her belt.
"You cut everything back," she said.
Steven Stansbury, pumping $2.53-a-gallon gas at Osprey as customers at the BP across the street were paying $2.59, said he's noticed other changes as the price has increased.
"The gas seems to be burning faster now," he said. "I don't know if they treat it or what, but it burns faster."
Christine Delise, a spokeswoman for AAA, said the recent increases have been driven by seasonal factors, a rise in the price of crude oil and a perception that an economic recovery might not be far away.
"The economy is starting to look like it's nearing a turnaround," she said. "For motorists and consumers it's somewhat of a burden."
