Prices at pump are a gas

GLENDALE — Gas prices in Southern California have dropped an average of 40 cents per gallon from a month ago due to motorists driving less and taking steps to change how far a tank of gas goes, an automobile club spokesman said.

The average price of regular unleaded gas Tuesday in Glendale was $3.49, down from $3.84 in September, according to the Southern California Automobile Club. Gas prices in Burbank on Tuesday were $3.42 a gallon for regular unleaded, which was down from $3.81 in September.

The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.16, down from $3.79 in September, automobile club spokesman Jeffrey Spring said. The cost of a barrel of oil, which hit $147 in July, closed Tuesday at $78.63, Spring said.

The price of gas could continue to drop because motorists are traveling less, he said.

“There has just been less demand,” Spring said.

Drivers also became more conscious about the maintenance of their vehicles in order to “optimize fuel economy,” he said. They have adjusted their vehicles’ tire air pressure and have begun driving slower, Spring said

“A lot of people are being resourceful,” he said.

More motorists have also begun combining their errands and have started riding bicycles and public transportation, he said. But the price of gas also has fallen because investments in commodities, such as gas, didn’t go as well as investors expected, Spring said.

Gas prices topped $4 in the spring when investors began purchasing more gasoline stocks, Spring said.

“That’s what pushed prices of gas high,” he said.

But the daily use of gasoline was lower than expected, so investors pulled out, Spring said, bringing gas prices down.

The lowered gas prices are good for motorists, said Burbank resident Jack Kakoian, who was pumping gas Tuesday at a Chevron station on Alameda Avenue and San Fernando Road.

“Mostly, I think it’s the stock market causing the price of gas to drop,” Kakoian said. “It’s a manipulative game.”

The price of oil contributes to fluctuating gas prices, said Huntington Beach resident John Roberts, who was pumping gas at the Chevron station on Arden and Central avenues.

“The government could help us by lowering the taxes on gas,” he said.

But Minnesota native Jamar Robinson, who was at the same gas station, won’t let gas prices drag him down.

He drove from Wisconsin to California in two days, arriving in Glendale on Tuesday.

“I don’t let it affect me,” he said.

“We have to still drive. We still have to maintain.”