SACRAMENTO, Calif. — According to AAA, an estimated 54.6 million people will travel at least 50 miles this Thanksgiving. That’s more than 2021 and near pre-pandemic numbers. Millions will be traveling by car.
ABC10 spoke to a few drivers at the pump, and they are tired of paying over $5 for gas.
One driver, David Impastato, is looking forward to visiting his sister in the East Bay this Thanksgiving. He’s not looking forward to filling his tank, though.
“It's ridiculous, I mean we're paying enough for everything else, and we gotta pay more for gas too? There are people who can't afford it, they can't afford food, let alone gas,” Impastato said.
High gas prices have been a constant in the lives of many Californians throughout 2022, however, Patrick De Haan with GasBuddy says an end is in sight.
“Well, it's about time. We've been waiting a long time for this moment after refinery issues, and falling gas prices–doesn't matter what time it happens —it's always welcome. Of course, ahead of Thanksgiving, it's even more welcome,” De Haan said.
He says thanksgiving travel won't impact prices because once people get to their holiday destination, they tend to stay put. Another factor is that people aren't commuting to work and school, which means fewer people are on the roads.
“I don't expect gas prices to go up at all, in fact, quite the contrary. Prices will continue dropping. Don't be in a hurry to fill up if you're not going anywhere because prices could fall another fifty cents to a dollar a gallon so long as nothing else changes,” De Haan said.
De Haan says he’s watched oil prices plummet which means retail gas prices took a nosedive as a result.
In terms of diesel, he says those prices should fall too, just not as drastically as gas. Summertime is peak gas season, and we’re coming up on a period that sees peak diesel consumption.
We could see diesel prices dip 20-50 cents in the valley over the next couple of weeks. Click here to find the cheapest gas in your area.
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