Notebook: Anger on the Roads
April 27, 2006 — -- When we embarked on our 1,000-mile trip by car from Boston to Chicago, I expected that the motorists I would meet along the way would be upset about the high price of gas. I did not expect what I encountered: outrage, vague suspicion and even fear.
To many, $3 a gallon gasoline is more than an inconvenience, it is a threat to their lifestyles and even their lives.
I met a man at a Marathon gas station in Wilmotte, a quiet, small town in northwest Ohio where regular unleaded was going for $2.98 a gallon. He said he, his pregnant wife and his young child were all eating less to make up for the cost of fueling the family car. Filling up a plastic gallon jug for gas for his lawn mower, he tugged at his loose waistband and said, "I have already lost 20 pounds."
At a service stop on the Massachusetts turnpike, Dan Willman pumped gas into his small domestic car and muttered, "Fifteen dollars for five gallons! It's ridiculous. I used to pump gas as a kid. My boss said gas was going to 75 cents a gallon. We all laughed at him. Look at it now."
He added, "It is cutting into my food bill, my shoes, everything."
My assignment for "Good Morning America" was to drive a minivan from Boston to Chicago, keeping track of how much it cost, the disparity in gas prices and, most important, what I was hearing from my fellow motorists about how they felt about the price of gas, how they were adapting -- or not -- and who or what they believed was responsible for the soaring cost.
The range of prices we saw was pretty wide. Several stations in Ohio offered unleaded regular for $2.79. In upstate New York, it was typically just over $3, up to $3.09. In Massachusetts, it was $2.99 at the Shell station near Northeastern University in downtown Boston, but just --just! -- $2.93 on the turnpike.
When I asked people why they thought prices were so high, the responses ranged from a baffled shrug to vague murmurs about it being the fault of "the government" to the war in Iraq, tensions with Iran, and not infrequently, the oil companies.
By coincidence, the big oil corporations were announcing their first-quarter profits at the same time I was on this trip. The figures -- topped by $8 billion for Exxon-Mobil -- provided more than ample ammunition for the skeptics, and there were many along our route.
We met Kristi Edmundson, an Ohio trucker, in the convenience store of a Citgo station.
"Every chance they had they upped it and said, you know, it's because of this, it's because of that," she said. "Look how much money they are making. The rest of us are losing money and who's gaining?"
There is a lot of anger on the roads.
April 26, 2006
Reporter's Notebook by Gitika Ahuja
And … we're off!
We're on the road today heading toward Cleveland to talk to Americans about the pain they feel at the pump these days. Ron Claiborne and I headed out bright and early this morning in our Toyota Sienna minivan. It is supposed to get 26 miles to the gallon on the highway, and we'll be testing that out for you (we have an ambitious 638 miles on our agenda today!).
We filled our tank with $60 worth of gasoline at $2.99 a gallon. We're moving along a long stretch of open road, on a mission to hear Americans' stories and to see how they are coping. We've talked to a good handful of travelers already, and people are very worried.
One man from upstate New York who had just spent $15 on five gallons of regular gas told us that he was being forced to cut back on things like clothes and shoes for his young children just to pay for gasoline. Another man told us he thought Americans needed to learn to conserve, because he believed we had to do something to cut back. He said he'd be willing to trade in his Buick if there were a car out there that could give him 50 miles to the gallon.
We're sure to hear many more stories along the way. We'll track them, add up costs and bring those details to you live from Cleveland Thursday morning on "Good Morning America."
We are just coming up on Utica, N.Y., now. We'll make a quick stop for lunch and see what folks face there -- the average price for gas in New York state is more than $3!
We just left Canastota, N.Y., a small bucolic town off of I-90 in upsate New York. From the gas station attendant's perspective, there is a lot of competition for customers. Many of the stations hold gas sales on any given day of week at which they charge 3 cents less than that day's rate.
One owner told us the line extends down the street on those days. People are looking for a deal!
We were told that a couple of gas stations just off the highway were owned by American Americans. American Indians are not required to pay state taxes on gasoline, so one attendant complained they made more money than the others because their expenses were lower.
A passerby complained they were pocketing the extra cash. No doubt, the competition for customers in a small town is extra fierce, especially when gas prices are high. The station we fueled up at charged us $3.01 a gallon.
ABC's Gitika Ahuja and Ron Claiborne are driving from Boston to Cleveland to speak with Americans about rising gas prices. They will file reports periodically during their trip.
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