Any Bay Area driver who buys gas regularly can tell you the price is going down -- but it still costs a lot.
However that changed this week in Concord. Our news chopper caught one gas station that was chargin $1.99 for a gallon of regular unleaded.
The Bonfare Market gas station at 3598 Willow Pass Road and Granada Drive in Concord switched to $1.99 gas a t 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.
They said they ran out at 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning and had to sell the premium at the price of regular until the delivery came two hours later.
Bay Area gas prices have dropped more than $1-per-gallon in the last month, with gas prices plummeting nationwide and the price per gallon averaging below $2 in four states outside of California, according to the American Automobile Association.
The average price in California for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $2.52, a decrease of 94 cents from Oct. 14.
AAA reports the average price of unleaded gas in the Bay Area is $2.62 per gallon, down $1.01, and the national average is $2.22, down 94 cents from last month.
Local
The average price of gas in San Francisco is $2.57 per gallon; $2.64 in Oakland; $2.48 in Santa Rosa; $2.66 in San Mateo; and $2.49 in San Jose.
Alaska has the country's highest average gas price, at $3.36 per gallon.
Among the lower 48 states, the most expensive gas is in Tahoe City, Calif., where a gallon of unleaded costs $2.99.
AAA officials have attributed the drop in prices to a downturn in the economy and a lack of demand, which has pushed the price of crude oil down by about 56 percent since July, when the price per barrel reached a record high of more than $147.
"The crude oil price is simply in response to a lack of demand and the economic trouble being felt around the world," AAA Northern California spokeswoman Cynthia Harris said in a prepared statement. "The question that is still unanswered is how low prices will go before motorists decide to drive more and push demand back up."
According to a study conducted by the association in Nevada, Northern California and Utah, nearly 70 percent of AAA members surveyed reported driving less because of high gas prices.
More than half reported looking for a new vehicle to drive and more than 25 percent were considering a hybrid or more fuel-efficient gas-powered vehicle.
