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Apr 26, 2008 1:51 pm US/Eastern
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Gas Prices On Steady Rise In Maryland
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
America is spending a growing amount of money at the pump.
Every time you blink it seems the price goes up as we inch closer to the $4.00 mark.
Dennis Edwards reports gasoline prices jumped three cents a gallon overnight in Maryland.
It will be a 22-cent jump in 24 hours with no end in sight.
The numbers just keep rolling up. Gasoline prices in Maryland hit a record $3.54 a gallon. A month ago we were paying $3.24, compared to a 2007 average of $2.88.
Promises by the government aren't enough to ease the financial frustration Marylanders feel after 10 straight days of rising gasoline prices.
Gasoline dealers say the higher prices are not only bad news for customers, but they're bad news for them as well. They're forcing people to pay for gasoline in a more costly way.
Melvin Sherbert owns the Piney Orchard BP station in Odenton and a second station.
He says customers are using credit cards more to pay for less gasoline.
That means the credit card companies get two to three percent of every purchase.
Dealers get less for the product and consumers must then pay as much as 20 to 30 percent in interest on their monthly bills.
"So suddenly you know the price going up like that, and our cost of credit is going up. Some of our dealers are paying $10,000 to $12,000 a month just in credit card fees," said Sherbert.
All this means less driving for John Camden.
"Just trying to slow down on the trips, vacations. You know, looking at other avenues, more localized things there," said Camden.
The bad news is AAA says there's no end in sight to these rising prices.
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