Bay Area gas prices continue to climb, soaring above $5 a gallon in some areas, the result of inflation and the escalating Russia-Ukraine war, according to AAA.
One gas station in Mill Valley was charging $5.39 a gallon, and the average price in Napa and San Francisco has eclipsed the $5 mark.
Oil has topped $112 a barrel for the first time since 2011, likely caused by a de facto ban on Russian exports. Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter.
The least expensive gas in the Bay Area was reported to be in Solano County, with an average of $4.87 a gallon.
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Californian’s already pay more for gas than anywhere else in America. Now questions are coming up about the gas tax.
“It’s never popular to defend the gas tax,” said Senator Scott Wiener in a tweet Thursday morning about a lot of calls to cancel or reduce California’s gas tax.
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But he said it’s a bad idea, would have little impact on prices and mean less funding for infrastructure.
“It’s gotten very very hard for people I understand and respect but that it is also not our best interest to let our roads highways and transit systems deteriorate that doesn't help,” said Wiener.
Some Republican leaders have proposed temporarily suspending the tax, noting the state already has a budget surplus.
The governor also proposed halting the next increase but some said there is more to consider.
“It's inevitable that if you fund the government with the kind of progressive taxes that we have in California that you're going to hit some bad years and you're going to need that gas tax,” said Robert Chapman Wood, SJSU professor of strategic management.
At the pump, AAA doesn’t see relief in the short term. Frustrating for people who have to gas up.
