Gas prices make consumers seek new plans

NEW YORK – Before Angie and Donald Roberts get into their car to travel to the beach, they go online to determine where gasoline prices are lowest along their route.

Jamie Hampton and her fiance, Adrian Ortiz, like to get away by driving their Volkswagen van to a campground and leaving it parked while they bike nearby nature trails. They’re in shape to do it because they bike almost daily to work.


The soaring price of gasoline is leading many Americans to adopt new strategies to economize on fuel, especially during the summer holiday driving season that’s about to begin.

The nationwide average price for gasoline has surged to a record $3.07 per gallon, according to the latest Lundberg Survey, surpassing the old mark of $3.03 set last August. Some experts fear that tight domestic refining capacity and higher international demand could boost the average to an unheard-of $3.50 this summer.

Kateri Callahan, president of the nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy in Washington, D.C., said that when gas prices rise, there are basically three strategies for consumers